q557 


I 


CHAPTER  I. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 

EXPLORATIONS  AND  SURVEYS 

IK  MINNESOTA. 


By  ST.  H.  WINCHELL. 


The  geographical  position  of  Minnesota  is  such  that  for  the  last  two 
hundred  years  it  has  been  the  ultima  thule  for  western  travelers  and 
adventurers.  Before  railroads  and  highways  had  made  it  possible  to  reach 
the  state  from  the  Atlantic  cities  easily  and  quickly,  it  was  the  turning- 
back  point  for  most  explorers,  traders  and  adventurers.  The  route  by  the 
great  lakes  terminated  at  Fond  du  Lac,  the  head  of  the  great  system  of 
inland  lakes  of  North  America.  The  route  by  the  Mississippi  for  canoes 
either  ceased  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  or,  if  pushed  further,  was  lost  in 
a  labyrinth  of  small  streams  and  lakes  in  which  the  Mississippi  has  its 
origin.  Westward  from  the  Mississippi,  or  at  least  westward  from  the  Red 
river  of  the  North,  and  the  St.  Peter's,  extended  the  boundless  prairies  of 
the  continent,  to  cross  which,  or  to  enter  on  which,  was,  to  most  travelers, 
too  arduous  and  too  fruitless  an  enterpiise;  and  few  were  hardy  enough  to 
penetrate  so  far  as  the  “Shining  Mountains,”  which  constituted  the  next 
^  natural  goal  of  the  explorer’s  ambition.  Not  only  the  zeal  of  the  mis- 
*  sionary,  but  the  cupidity  of  the  fur-trader — avant  coureurs  of  American 
civilization — found  in  Minnesota  a  long  halting-place.  Hence  a  multitude 

‘r7  of  published  “journals”  and  “expeditions,”  or  “visits,”  have  made  Minne- 

o 

^  sota  widely  known  throughout  both  English  and  French-speaking  countries. 
Many  of  these  volumes  are  ignored  in  the  following  historical  synopsis. 


2 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Champlain,  1615 

The  design  has  been  to  note  the  steps  of  geographical,  as  well  as  geological 
exploration  as  authenticated  by  governmental  or  semi-official  publications. 

At  the  conclusion  of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  France,  in  1768, 
the  territory  which  is  now  embraced  within  Minnesota  was  divided  by  a 
line  running  south  from  the  international  boundary  to  the  source  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  thence  southward  along  the  Mississippi.  France 
retained  that  portion  lying  to  the  west  of  the  line,  and  that  to  the  east  was 
declared  subject  to  the  British  crown.  The  name  Louisiane ,  which  was 
applied  by  the  French  to  the  lower  portions  of  the  Mississippi,  was  extended 
northward  so  as  to  include  all  their  possessions  south  of  the  forty-ninth 
parallel.  That  portion- of  the  state  which  lies  east  of  the  division  line  ot 
1768  became,  in  1788,  a  part  ot  the  original  area  of  the  United  States, 
included  in  the  “  Territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river.”  In  1808  France 
ceded  the  “province  of  Louisiana”  to  the  United  States.  Minnesota  was 
admitted  into  the  Union,  as  a  State,  in  the  year  1858.  The  history  ot 
exploration  may  lienee  be  divided  into  three  parts :  1.  Period  prior  to 

1788;  2.  Period  of  Territorial  Exploration;  8.  Period  of  State  Exploration 
and  Survey. 

I.  PERIOD  PRIOR  TO  1783- 

The  map  of  Champlain  shows  the  knowledge  he  obtained  ot  the 
western  country  from  the  Hurons  at  the  time  of  his  visit  to  their  country 
in  1615.*  This  represents  the  “Grand  Lac,”  which  is  the  French  for  Kitchi 
Gummi,  the  Chippewa  name  of  lake  Superior,  with  a  large  stream  entering 
it  from  the  south,  called  “  La  Grande  Riviere.”  This  probably  refers  to  the 
Mississippi,  of  which  he  could  have  had  only  a  vague  idea,  and  especially 
since  no  such  stream,  commensurate  with  the  importance  which  he  has 
given  this,  enters  lake  Superior  from  the  south.  The  accident  of  its  being 

*The  pr'ncipal  authorities  consulted  on  the  earliest  geographical  explorations  in  Minnesota  are  the  following 
Notes  pour  servir  a  Vhistoire  et  a  la  bibliographic  et  la  cartographic  de  la  N  ouvelle-France  et  des  Pays  adjacents ,  1545-1700 :  par 
l’auteur  de  la  Bibliotheca  Americana  vetustissima,  Paris,  Librairie  Tross,  1872.  The  Collections  of  the  Minnesota  Historical 
Society,  four  volumes,  and  the  Publications  of  the  Department  of  American  History ,  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society 
Decouvertes  et  etablissements  des  Francais  dansl'ouest  et  dans  le  sud  de  T Amerique  septentrionale;  by  Pierre  Margry,  Paris 
Hennepin’s  Louisiana,  a  translation  from  the  French  of  Hennepin’s  first,  or  Paris,  edition  of  his  work  on  the  Mississippi, 
by  John  Gilmary  Shea,  New  York.  1880.  Neill’s  History  of  Minnesota  from  the  earliest  French  explorations  to  the  present 
time;  third  edition,  i879,  Minneapolis  History  of  the  discovery  and  settlement  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  by  the  great 
European  Powers,  Spain,  France  and  Great  Britain;  by  John  W.  Monette,  two  volumes,  New  York,  1848  By  the  cour¬ 
tesy  of  Rev.  E.  D..  Neill,  several  manuscript  copies  of  documents  in  the  Ar«hives  de  la  Marine,  Paris,  and  tracings  of  an- 
published  old  maps  from  the  same  place,  have  been  consulted.  Journal  d'un  voyage  fait  par  ordre  du  Roi  dans  V  Amerique 
septentrionale,  par  le  P  De  Charlevoix,  1744,  3  tomes,  Paris.  Memoire  sur  les  Mceurs,  Coutumes  et  Religion  des  Sauvages  de 
I'  Amerique  septentrionale  par  Nicolas  Perrot,  publiee  pour  la  premiere  fois,  par  le  R.  P.  Tailhan.  Historical  Collections  of 
Louisiana,  4  vols,  B.  F.  French.  Histovre  de  la  Louisiane,  par  M.  Le  Page  Du  Pratz,  1768  The  Works  and  Voyages  o 
Champlain,  published  in  English  by  the  Prince  Society,  Boston,  1880.  The  Discovery  of  the  Great  West,  Francis  Parkman 
1869. 


i 


b*  S*  Charles 


raepe 

1736 


L.Minittie 

v,  Vereiufrye 
ft  20/ 


.v uruiniLSOUcn 

gm.  Otc/ul  S'tXph  - 

Si 9*1730  /g 


I  *.  Sl.  Pierre 

WnYMidr-Vf  ■ 
/7J/— j  >■ 


i^ails  of 
HainvRiver 
,  . 

X0  4'  /Vvvt 


Sfasn  'Msf&eg 

or^X&sssSS 

Slur  go  on  L. 
y-~\Long 


Sturgeon 
a  Isil . 

^ >onfj  v_ 


Siva  my. 


* ooked  L 

&&fl-on8 

*9^1823 


L.Sosau 

Otcluv. 

ri3jLt 


v?r 


jVasa£%v4£y</ ;-V» 

3et'fPeyf}62  V- 


1  'or  mi! inn 


Turtle  I,. 


SachawgauL.  | 

/  w 


Gross U? 
Morrison  • 
i.Pso* 


RU-e  K 
Morn so^ 
1604 


Hire  Lakes 
^Morrison  j 


LAssatra 
ira , 


KlklX'irX 

Morrison 

"®4  i  A7/FZ. 

".?cAZ , 


1’oiLct 


White  if  ish  I. 


iftmalastigoui 

'Iferrot  ” 

fLude  16 8 '1 


P*  SV  Croix" 


m^roridenre  L 
' Tanquelin  1684 


Otter  Toil 
Jr-r~Jfckej& 

i'5w 

i  s>>- 


Tieaf 

Schl. 


ynr. 

tli  1679" 
nn  1680 


GEOLOGICAL 

AND 

NATURAL  HISTORY  SURVEY 


vjiDesIssSf 
„  Katliib1 


MINNESOTA 


Pikrs/StocUHdc- 

X.tSOS-GS. 


HISTORICAL  CHART 


SHOWING  Till 


PRIOR  TO  N1C0.LLETS  MAP  OF  18  R 


rGreal  Palls  Long  1813 


Kit  .WINCH  ELJ. 


Saul  tie 
»Sl  Antoine 
\llennepi i 
\  1680 f 


Calhoun  L 

hong 


Pepin .  I)c  L  Isle  1700 


!  StAuilionv  ^ , 
Snofliog  '  | 


tslePelee  and  F*.  Le  Sueur 
•>L  ie  Sueur  1685 


Reumichah^ty,  Luke  Good  Help 

ri  fy  I'M  BcnaubArnoism 
■r’T  )  Huh/iorl727/W  L.tc 


fs  P tours  Hennepin 
S*.  Antoine 


,  jtf.t ojrlr  i 

Ciuii^  CrrsfYMit 


'  train 


, ,  Carrar.i 
Winter  pi  i  pry 


Long  186 
Wrqmslui  w* 


La  butte 
d  itvyennr : 

a  rraneftit 


PLATE  1. 


Julius  Bien  ft.  Co.lith. 


1659,  Groselliers  and  Radisson.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


3 


represented  as  flowing  north  instead  of  south,  is  no  uncommon  error  for 
the  early  geographers  who  have  mapped  the  rivers  of  Minnesota  and 
Manitoba  ;  and  La  Salle,  in  1682,  applies  the  same  name  to  the  Mississippi. 
Champlain  also  had  knowledge  of  the  mining  of  copper  in  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Saguenay  (or  St.  Lawrence),  but  he  seems  not  to  have  had 
definite  knowledge  whether  the  mines  were  on  the  south  shore  of  lake 
Superior  or  on  the  “  floating  island  ”  (Isle  Royal e)  near  the  north  shore.  . 

The  Relations  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  so  far  as  published,  cover  the 
period  from  1626  to  1679.  The  adventurous  fathers  more  frequently  men¬ 
tion  the  savage  inhabitants  of  the  country  than  its  geographical  features. 
The  Dakotahs  are  mentioned  by  Paul  le  Jeune  in  1640,  who  says  they  dwelt 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Ouinnipigon  (Winnebago),  and  that  they  and  the 
Assinipouars  (Assiniboines)  had  been  visited  by  Nicollet,  interpreter  for  the 
Algonquin  and  Huron  languages  for  the  Messieurs  de  la  Nouvelle  France, 
in  their  own  countries.* 

The  Relation  for  1659  thus  refers  to  the  Poualak  (Assiniboines).  “As 
wood  is  scarce  and  very  small  with  them,  nature  has  taught  them  to  burn 
coal  (charbon  de  terre)  in  its  place,  and  to  cover  their  wigwams  with  skins. 
Some  of  the  more  industrious  also  make  cabins  of  clay  (or  turf)  much  in 
the  same  way  that  swallows  build  their  nests.”f 

GROSELLIERS  AND  RADISSON. 

The  actual  exploration  of  the  state  proceeded  westward  from  lake 
Superior.  In  the  year  1 659  two  Frenchmen,  in  the  interest  of  commerce, 
made  the  next  recorded  visit  to  the  Nadouessioux  at  lake  Buade  (Mille 
Lacs),  where  they  spent  the  winter.  Returning  to  France  they  endeavored 
to  establish  trade  with  the  “  forty  Sioux  villages  ”  of  that  locality,  but  did 

f  .  i 

not  succeed.  Groselliers,  however,  enlisted  the  English  in  an  expedition 
through  Hudson’s  bay  to  Fort  Rupert.  He  seems  to  have  reached  lake 
Superior  from  Hudson’s  bay,  perhaps  by  way  of  the  Me-me-si-pi,  or  Pigeon 
river,  on  the  international  boundary,  inasmuch  as  that  river,  on  several 
ancient  maps  of  the  northwest,  is  styled  R.  Grossillers. 

*Neill’s  Minnesota ,  p.  101. 

fSucli  habitations  were  occupied  by  the  Iowas  on  the  upper  Minnesota  when  the  Sioux  first  came  there,  and  are 
probably  the  source  of  many  of  the  “  mounds  ”  seen  in  the  state  of  Minnesota, 


4 


THE  .GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Marquette,  1673. 


MENARD. 

To  Marquette  has  been  given  the  honor  of  the  first  discovery  of  the 
Mississippi  at  any  point  north  of  the  Chickasaw  bluff ;  but  it  appears  that 
an  earlier  Jesuit  missionary  reached  it  by  way  of  the  Wisconsin  river  in 
1661,  while  in  pursuit  of  his  labors,  in  an  attempt  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  wandering  Huron  nation,  twelve  years  before  Marquette  and  Joliet. 
He  descended  either  the  St.  Croix  or  the  Wisconsin,  and  ascended  the 
Black  river,  on  the  headwaters  of  which  the  Hnrons  had  chosen  a  resi¬ 
dence  ;  but  in  making  a  portage  Menard  was  lost  in  the  wilderness. 
Marquette  descended  the  Wisconsin  and  passed  down  the  Mississippi.* 

allouez.  . 

After  the  death  of  Menard,  Claude  Allouez  was  appointed,  in  1665,  to 
the  Mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  at  La  Pointe.  It  was  probably  in  1666  that 
he  visited  Fond  du  Lac  Superieur,  and  there  met  a  number  of  the  Nadoues- 
sioux  from  the  country  to  the  west  and  southwest,  and  learned  for  the  first 
time  of  the  great  river,  which,  in  his  Relation,  he  denominated  the  Messipi. 
Allouez,  however,  never  saw  the  great  river  of  which  he  heard  so  much ; 
on  the  banks  of  which  dwelt  the  strange  race  of  aborigines  who  were 
reported  to  live  in  a  country  of  prairies  abounding  in  ail  kinds  of  game, 
who  cultivated  tobacco  and  lived  largely  on  “marsh  rice,”  spoke  a  language 
entirely  unknown,  used  the  bow  and  arrow  with  great  dexterity,  and  dwelt 
in  cabins  covered  with  deer  skins — the  Iroquois  of  the  country,  as 
Marquette  styled  them,  j 

During  Marquette's  administration  the  Mission  at  La  Pointe  was 
abandoned  on  account  of  the  hostility  of  the  Dakotahs,  who  are  described 
by  Marquette  as  a  “certain  people  called  Nadouessi,  dreaded  by  their 
neighbors ;  and,  although  they  only  use  the  bow  and  arrow,  they  use  it 
with  so  much  skill  and  dexterity  that,  in  a  moment,  they  fill  the  air.  In 
the  Parthian  mode,  they  turn  their  heads  in  flight,  and  discharge  their 
arrows  so  rapidly  that  they  are  no  less  to  be  feared  in  their  retreat  than  in 
their  attack."  Although  Marquette  traveled  over  much  of  the  western 

*  Transactions  of  the  Department  of  American  History  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  E.  D.  Neill.  In 
French’s  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana,  Part  IV.,  it  is  stated,  on  the  authority  of  the  Jesuit  Relation  of  1639-40,  that 
Sieur  Nicollet,  in  163!),  probably  was  the  first  Frenchman  on  the  Mississippi  after  the  visit  of  DeSoto. 

t  French  expresses  the  opinion  that  Allouez  visited  the  Mississippi  by  way  of  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers  in  the 
year  1670.  (Jesuit  Relation  of  1669-70.)  Hitt  Coll.  Louisiana. 


Ve  Tvlorrh-taZ 


8  Tvli ss-ilimiickinn-e 


Jfftse.00^  %  \ 

_7yIo-c  au  Z-C7ltt  0tC 

"sbnai  ion;  '\T/° 


\j  JVZichifa.*Mj 
ijJrFor *Ch*c+r» 


Out  nr. 


l0K4i*»Hi 


I  ’V  0*taZ* 
*'Ghmil \t-pt 


7ofl  Crevtcoixt-r 


"'16  T*.  <U,TWtl 


PARTIE  DUNE  CARTE  DE  LAMERIQUE  SEPTENTR10NALE  DRESSEE  PAR  J.B.FRANQUELTN 

DANS  1688,  POUR  ETRE  PRESENTEE  A  LOUIS  XW.  PLATE  2 


Reduced,  for  the  Geol&ficaZ  and  natural  History  Surrey  of  Minnesota  fr  om  a  manuscript  map  in  the  Archives  des  Marin  es, 
in  the  possession,  of  the  Department  of  American  History  of  the  Minnesota Historical  Society 


J.Bien&Co.PUoto.  I  itlx 


ip^arY 

> .  irt£ 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


PACtE  3 


|  i1'"  >  ->  y 

UNlVtHSU  r  uf  ILLINOIS. 


1678,  Du  Luth,] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


5 


country  south  of  Minnesota,  visiting  the  Mississippi  by  way  of  the 
Wisconsin  in  1673,  he.  seems  not  to  have  prosecuted  his  discoveries  within 
the  area  of  Minnesota. 


SIEUR  DU  LUTH. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  Governor  of  Canada,  but  probably  at  the 
instance  of  the  merchants  of  Quebec,  Daniel  Greysolon,  the  Sieur  du  Luth, 
was  dispatched  with  eight  men,  in  1678,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the 
country  to  the  west  of  lake  Superior,  and  taking  possession  of  it  in  the 
name  of  the  king  of  France,  and  securing  the  trade  of  the  native  tribes 
before  the  English  could  reach  them.  He  entered  Minnesota  in  the 
summer  of  1679,  having  wintered  near  the  falls  of  the  St.  Mary’s  river. 
In  July  he  caused  the  arms  of  the  king  of  France  to  be  set  up  in  the  great 
Sioux  village,  Kathio,  which  he  styles  the  village  of  the  Izatys,  which  can  be 
no  other  than  the  great  Nadouessioux  settlement  at  Mille  Lacs,  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  Lac  Buade.  The  next  year  he  reached  the  Mississippi  river 
by  way  of  the  Bois  Brule  river  (in  Wisconsin)  and  the  St.  Croix,  and 
encountered  Hennepin  and  his  companions,  as  detailed  in  his  report  made 
to  the  Marquis  of  Seignelay  in  1685,  an  extract  from  which  is  as  follows  :* 

EXTRACT  FROM  DULUTH’S  REPORT,  MADE  IN  1685. 

On  July  2d,  1679,  I  had  the  honor  to  plant  his  majesty’s  arms  in  the  greit  village  of  the 
Nadoecioux,  called  Izatys ,  where  never  had  a  Frenchman  been,  no  more  than  at  the  Songaskitons 
and  Ilonetbotons,  distant  six  score  leagues  from  the  former,  where  I  also  planted  his  majesty’s 
arms  in  the  same  year,  1679. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  having  given  the  Agrenipoulak ,  as  well  as  all  the  other  northern 
nations,  a  rendezvous  at  the  extremity  of  lake  Superior,  to  induce  them  to  make  peace  with  the 
Kadouecioux,  their  common  enemy,  they  were  all  there,  and  I  was  happy  enough  to  gain  their 
esteem  and  friendship,  to  unite  them  together,  and  in  order  that  the  peace  might  be  lasting  among 
them  I  thought  that  I  could  not  cement  it  better  than  by  inducing  the  nations  to  make  reciprocal 
marriages  with  each  other.  This  I  could  not  effect  without  great  expense.  The  following  winter 
I  made  them  hold  meetings  in  the  woods,  which  I  attended,  in  order  that  they  might  hunt 
together,  give  banquets,  and  by  this  means  contract  a  closer  friendship. 

The  presents  which  it  cost  me  to  induce  the  Indians  to  go  down  to  Montreal — who  had  been 
diverted  by  the  Openagaux  and  Abenakis ,  at  the  instigation  of  the  English  and  Dutch,  who 
made  them  believe  that  the  plague  raged  in  the  French  settlements,  and  that  it  had  spread  as  far 
as  Nipissingue,  where  most  of  the  JNipissiriens  had  died  of  it — have  also  entailed  a  greater 
expense. 

In  June,  1680,  not  being  satisfied  with  having  made  my  discovery  by  land,  I  took  two  canoes 
with  an  Indian,  who  was  my  interpreter,  and  four  Frenchmen,  to  seek  means  to  make  it  by 
water.  With  this  view  I  entered  a  river  which  empties  eight  leagues  from  the  extremity  of  lake 
Superior,  on  the  south  side,  when,  after  having  cut  some  trees,  and  broken  about  a  hundred 
beaver  dams,  I  reached  the  upper  waters  of  the  said  river ;  and  then  I  made  a  portage  of  half  a 


*  Shea’s  Translation  of  Hennepin’s  Description  of  Louisiana. 


I 


0  THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 

[Du  Luth,  1679. 

league  to  reach  a  lake,  the  outlet  of  which  fell  into  a  very  fine  river  which  took  me  down  into  the 
Mississippi.  Being  there  I  learned  from  eight  cabins  of  Nadonecioux  whom  I  met,  that  the 
Reverend  Father  Louis  Henpin,  Recollect,  now  at  the  convent  of  St.  Germain,  with  two  other 
Frenchmen,  had  been  robbed  and  carried  off  as  slaves  for  more  than  three  hundred  leagues  by 
the  Nadouecioux  themselves. 

This  intelligence  surprised  me  so  much  that,  without  hesitating,  I  left  two  Frenchmen  with 
these  said  eight  cabins  of  Indians,  as  well  as  the  goods  which  I  had  to  make  presents,  and  took 
one  of  the  said  Indians,  to  whom  I  made  a  present,  to  guide  me,  with  my  interpreter  and  two 
Frenchmen,  to  where  the  said  Reverend  Father  Louis  was,  and  as  it  was  a  good  eighty  leagues, 
I  proceeded  in  canoe  two  days  and  two  nights,  and  the  next  day  at  ten  o’clock  in  the  morning  I 
found  him  with  1,000  or  1,100  souls.  The  want  of  respect  which  they  showed  to  the  said 
Reverend  Father  provoked  me,  and  this  I  showed  them,  telling  them  that  he  was  my  brother;  and 
I  had  him  placed  in  my  canoe  to  come  with  me  into  the  villages  of  the  said  Nadouecioux,  whither 
I  took  him,  and  in  which,  a  week  after  our  arrival  there,  I  caused  a  council  to  be  convened, 
exposing  the  ill  treatment  which  they  had  been  guilty  of,  both  to  the  said  Reverend  Father  and 
to  the  other  two  Frenchmen,  who  were  with  him,  having  robbed  them  and  carried  them  off  as 
slaves,  and  even  taken  the  priestly  vestments  of  said  Reverend  Father.  I  had  two  calumets 
which  they  had  danced  to  them,  returned  to  them,  on  account  of  the  insult  which  they  had 
offered  them,  being  what  they  hold  most  in  esteem  among  them  to  appease  matters,  telling  them 
that  I  did  not  take  calumets  from  people,  who  after  they  had  seen  me  and  received  my  peace 
presents,  and  been  for  a  year  always  with  Frenchmen,  robbed  them  when  they  went  to  visit  them. 

Each  one  in  the  council  endeavored  to  throw  the  blame  from  himself,  but  their  excuses 
did  not  prevent  my  telling  the  Reverend  Father  Louis  that  he  would  have  to  come  with  me 
toward  the  Outagamys ,  as  he  did,  showing  him  that  it  would  be  to  strike  a  blow  at  the  French 
nation  in  a  new  discovery,  to  suffer  an  insult  of  this  nature,  without  manifesting  resentment, 
although  my  design  was  to  push  on  to  the  sea  in  a  west-northwesterly  course,  which  is  that  which 
is  believed  to  be  the  Bed  Sea  [Gulf  of  California],  whence  the  Indians  who  had  gone  warring  6n 
that  side  gave  salt  to  three  Frenchmen  whom  I  had  sent  exploring,  and  who  brought  me  said  salt, 
having  reported  to  me  that  the  Indians  had  told  them  that  it  was  only  twenty  days’  journey  from 
where  they  were  to  find  the  great  lake,  of  which  the  waters  were  worthless  to  drink.*  This  has 
made  me  believe  that  it  would  not  be  absolutely  difficult  to  find  it,  if  permission  would  be  given 
to  go  there.  However,  I  preferred  to  retrace  my  steps,  manifesting  to  them  the  just  indignation 
which  I  felt  against  them  rather  than  to  remain  after  the  violence  which  they  had  done  to  the 
Reverend  Father  and  the  other  two  Frenchmen  who  were  with  him,  whom  I  put  in  my  canoes 
and  brought  them  back  to  Michelimakinak. 


hennepin’s  movements  in  Minnesota. 

TJiat  portion  of  Hennepin’s  narrative  which  relates  to  his  movements 
in  Minnesota,  and  to  the  natural  features  of  the  country,  is  as  follows,  as 
translated  from  the  first,  or  Paris,  edition  of  his  works,  by  John  G.  Shea. 

The  river  Colbertf  runs  south-sonthwest  and  comes  from  the  north-northwest;  it  runs 
between  two  chains  of  mountains,  very  small  here,  which  wind  with  the  river,  and  in  some  places 
are  pretty  far  from  the  banks,  so  that  between  the  mountains  and  the  river  there  are  large 
prairies,  where  you  often  see  herds  of  wild  cattle  browsing.  In  other  places  these  eminences 
leave  semi-circular  spots  covered  with  grass  or  wood.  Beyond  these  mountains  you  discover  vast 
plains,  but  the  more  we  approach  the  northern  side  ascending,  the  earth  did  not  appear  to  us  so 
fertile  nor  the  woods  so  beautiful  as  in  the  Islinois  country. 

This  great  river  is  almost  everywhere  a  short  league  in  width,  and  in  some  places  two 
leagues ;  it  is  divided  by  a  number  of  islands  covered  with  trees  interlaced  with  so  many  vines  as 


*  There  is  no  such  lake  in  the  limits  of  Minnesota,  but  this  may  refer  to  some  of  the  alkaline  lakes  oi  Dakota 
[N.  II.  W.] 

Mississippi. 


LiP^m 


Of  I  ML 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


PA  OF  4 


Seduced  fhrthe  Geolot/ical  and  .Natural-  llisloiy  Survey  ofMnnesota.  ftvm  a  tracing  of  a  Slap  in  the  Archives 
des  Alurmrs,  in  the  possession  of  the  Depcertnvavt-  of  American  History,  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society. 


I679,  Du  Luth.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


7 


to  be  almost  impassable.  It  receives  no  considerable  river  on  the  western  side  except  that  of  the 
Otontenta,  and  another,  which  comes  from  the  west-northwest  seven  or  eight  leagues  from  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua. 

On  the  eastern  side  you  meet  first  an  inconsiderable  river,  and  then  further  on  another, 
called  by  the  Indians  Onisconsin ,  or  Misconsin,  which  comes  from  the  east  and  east-northeast. 
Sixty  leagues  up  you  leave  it  and  make  a  portage  of  half  a  league,  and  reach  the  bay  of  the 
Puans  by  another  river  which,  near  its  source,  meanders  most  curiously.  It  is  almost  as  broad 
as  the  river  Seignelay,  or  Islinois,  and  empties  into  the  river  Colbert  a  hundred  leagues  above  the 
river  Seignelay. 

Twenty-four  leagues  above  you  come  to  the  Black  river,  called  by  the  Nadouessions ,  or  Islati, 
Chabadeba ,  or  Chabaoudeba.  It  seems  inconsiderable.  Thirty  leagues  further  up  you  find  the 
Lake  of  Tears,*  which  we  so  named  because  the  Indians  who  had  taken  us,  wishing  to  kill  us, 
some  of  them  wept  the  whole  night  to  induce  the  others  to  consent  to  our  death.  This  lake, 
which  is  formed  by  the  river  Colbert,  is  seven  leagues  long  and  about  four  wide.  There  is  no 
considerable  current  in  the  middle  that  we  could  perceive,  but  only  at  its  entrance  and  exit.  Half 
a  league  below  the  Lake  of  Tears,  on  the  south  side,  is  Buffalo  river,  full  of  turtles.  It  is  so  called 
by  the  Indians  on  account  of  the  numbers  of  buffalo  found  there.  We  followed  it  for  ten  or 
twelve  leagues ;  it  empties  with  rapidity  into  the  river  Colbert,  but  as  you  ascend  it  it  is  always 
gentle  and  free  from  rapids.  It  is  skirted  by  mountains  far  enough  off  in  some  places  to  form 
prairies.  The  mouth  is  wooded  on  both  sides  and  is  full  as  wide  as  that  of  the  Seignelay. 

Forty  leagues  above  is  a  river  full  of  rapids,  by  which,  striking  northwest,  [northeast]  you 
can  proceed  to  lake  Conde  as  far  as  Nimissakouat**  river,  which  empties  into  that  lake.  This  first 
river  is  called  Tomb  river, t  because  the  Issati  left  there  the  body  of  one  of  their  warriors,  killed 
by  a  rattlesnake,  on  whom,  according  to  their  custom,  I  put  a  blanket.  This  act  of  humanity 
gained  me  much  importance  by  the  gratitude  displayed  by  the  men  of  the  deceased’s  tribe  in 
a  great  banquet  which  they  gave  me  in  their  country,  and  to  which  more  than  a  hundred  Indians 
were  invited. 

Continuing  to  ascend  this  river  ten  or  twelve  leagues  more,  the  navigation  is  interrupted  by  a 
cataract,  which  I  called  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  in  gratitude  for  the  favors  done  me 
by  the  Almighty  through  the  intercession  of  that  great  saint,  whom  we  had  chosen  patron  and 
protector  of  all  our  enterprises.  This  cataract  is  forty  or  fifty  feet  high,  divided  in  the  middle  of 
its  fall  by  a  rocky  island  of  pyramidal  form.  The  high  mountains  which  skirt  the  river  Colbert 
last  only  as  far  as  the  river  Onisconsin ,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  leagues  ;  at  this  place  it 
begins  to  flow  from  the  west  and  northwest  without  our  having  been  able  to  learn  from  the 
Indians,  who  have  ascended  it  very  far,  the  spot  where  this  river  rises.  They  merely  told  us  that 
twenty  or  thirty  leagues  below  [above?]  there  is  a  second  fall, ft  at  the  foot  of  which  are  some  vil¬ 
lages  of  the  prairie  people  called  Thinthonka,%  who  live  there  a  part  of  the  year.  Eight  leagues 
above  St.  Anthony  of  Padua’s  Falls,  on  the  right,  you  find  the  river  of  the  Issati ,  or  Nadoussion,XX 
with  a  very  narrow  mouth,  which  you  can  ascend  to  the  north  for  about  seventy  leagues  to  lake 
Buade,?  or  of  the  Issati ,  where  it  rises.  We  gave  this  river  the  name  of  St.  Francis.  This  last 
lake  spreads  out  into  great  marshes,  producing  wild  rice,  like  many  other  places  down  to  the  bay 
of  the  Puans. II  This  kind  of  grain  grows  in  marshy  places,  without  any  one  sowing  it ;  it  resem¬ 
bles  oats,  but  tastes  better,  and  the  stalks  are  longer  as  well  as  the  ear.  The  Indians  gather  it  in 
due  season.  The  women  tie  several  ears  of  it  together  with  white  wood  bark  to  prevent  its  being 
all  devoured  by  the  flocks  of  ducks  and  teal  found  there.  The  Indians  lay  in  a  stock  for  part  of 
the  year  and  to  eat  out  of  the  hunting  season. 

Lake  Buade,  or  lake  of  the  Issati ,  is  situated  about  seventy  leagues  west  of  lake  Conde  ;  it 
is  impossible  to  go  from  one  to  the  other  by  land  on  account  of  the  marshy  and  quaggy  nature  of 
the  ground ;  you  might  go,  though  with  difficulty,  on  the  snow  in  snowshoes  ;  by  water  there  are 
many  portages,  and  it  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues,  on  account  of  the  many  turns  to  be  made. 
From  lake  Conde,  to  go  conveniently  by  canoe,  you  must  pass  by  Tomb  river,  where  we  found  only 
the  skeleton  of  the  Indian  whom  I  mentioned  above,  the  bears  having  eaten  the  flesh  and  pulled 
up  the  poles  which  the  deceased’s  relatives  had  planted  for  a  monument.  One  of  our  boatmen 


Bay. 


*  Lake  Pepin.  **  Bois  Brule,  f  St.  Croix,  ft  Little  Falls,  i  Tintonwan  Rum  river.  §  Milie  Lacs  Green 


8 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Hennepin,  1680. 


found  a  war  calumet  beside  the  grave,  and  an  earthen  pot  upset,  in  which  the  Indians  had  left  fat 
buffalo  meat,  to  assist  the  departed,  as  they  say,  in  making  his  journey  to  the  land  of  souls. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  lake  Buade  are  many  other  lakes  whence  issue  several  rivers,  on  the 
banks  of  which  live  the  Issati,  Nadouessans.  Tinthona  (which  means  prairie-men),  Ouadebathon* 
River-people,  Chong askethon,  Dog  or  Wolf  tribe  (for  Chonga  among  these  nations  means  dog  or 
wolf ),  and  other  tribes,  all  which  we  comprise  under  the  name  Nadouessiou.  These  Indians 
number  eight  or  ten  thousand  warriors,  very  brave,  great  runners,  and  very  good  bowmen.  It 
was  by  a  part  of  these  tribes  that  I  and  our  two  canoemen  were  taken  in  the  following  way : 

The  map  accompanying  Hennepin’s  work,  as  published  at  Paris,  is 
reduced  and  reproduced  in  plate-pages  5  and  6.  The  Mississippi  is  c-onjectur- 
ally  represented  by  a  dotted  line  as  flowing  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  The 
Illinois  river  is  named  Seignelay  ;  the  Wisconsin  is  called  Oisconsins ;  above 
that  is  the  river  Noire,  or  Black  river ;  the  next  above  on  the  east  is  R.  cles 
Boeufs;  the  St.  Croix  is  styled  R.  du  Tombeau,  and  between  it  and  Rum 
river,  which  is  denominated  the  St.  Francois,  is  a  water  connection  of  lakes 
and  streams.  There  is  one  river  above  the  St.  Francis,  but  unnamed.  The 
Mississippi  is  represented  as  having  no  tributaries  from  the  west,  and  as 

*  j 

flowing  between  two  ranges  of  mountains  from  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  to 
some  distance  below  the  Wisconsin.  These  “mountains”  are  none  other 
than  the  bluffs  of  the  river  valley,  made  of  horizontal  strata  cut  by  the 
river  itself.  Lake  Pepin  is  named  Lac  des  Fleurs  ;  Mille  Lacs  is  Lac  Buade  ; 
lake  Superior  is  Conde  ou  Superieur ;  lake  Michigan  is  L.  Dauphin  ou 
Illinois  ;  lake  Huron  is  L.  D’ Orleans  ou  Huron  ;  lake  Erie  is  Conty  ou  Erie, 
and  lake  Ontario  is  L.  Frontenac.  The  coat  of  arms  of  France  (probably  as 
established  by  Du  Luth)  is  represented  at  the  most  northwesterly  point  on 
the  map,  surmounted  by  a  figure  of  the  cross,  and  underneath  it  are  inscribed 
these  words: 

Armes  du  Roy  telle 
quel le  sont  grauee 
sur  V  escorce  d’  un 
Chesne  a  V  endroit 
margue — A . 

The  unscrupulous  Franciscan  represents  missions  of  his  order  estab¬ 
lished  some  leagues  to  the  northwest  of  Mille  Lacs,  on  the  lower  Mississippi, 
below  the  Illinois,  as  well  as  on  lake  Ontario.  The  gulf  of  California  is 
named  Mer  Vermeille,  and  toward  the  north  further  are  the  Straits  of 
Anian,  supposed  to  lead  to  the  “Northwest  Passage,”  that  phantom  of  all 
early  explorers  of  North  America. 


*  VV  arpetonwan. 


i68o.  La  Salle. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


9 


As  Hennepin’s  account  of  his  visit  to  the  Falls. St.  Anthony  has  been 
much  criticised  for  the  exaggeration  and  the  egotism  which  pervade  it,  the 
account  of  La  Salle,  who  planned  and  despatched  the  party,  is  added.  It  is 
very  probable  that  La  Salle  misrepresents  Du  Luth,  and  his  travels  in  the 
upper  Mississippi  region.  Charlevoix  refers  to  Du  Luth  as  a  man  of  veracity, 
bravery  and  honor,  and  Le  Clercq  as  a  man  of  ability  and  experience. 

LA  SALLE  ON  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

La  Salle’s  letter  from  Fort  Frontenac,  22nd  of  August,  16S2,  is  found 
in  Part  II.  of  Margry’s  Decouvertes  et  etablissements  des  Francais  dans 
Vouest  et  dans  le  sud  de  VAmerique  se'ptentrionale.  It  contains  internal  evi¬ 
dence  that,  La  Salle  derived  his  information  of  this  expedition  from  Michel 
Accault,  the  real  leader  of  the  party.  Translated  into  English  as  follows  : 

v  .  '  \ 

*****  The  river  Colbert ,  named  Gastacha  by  the  Iroquois  and  Mississipy 
by  the  Outaouacs,  into  which  the  river  of  the  Islinois ,  called  Teakiki,  empties,  comes  from  the 
northwest.  1  have  caused  it  to  be  explored  by  two  of  my  men,  one  of  the  name  of  Michel 
Accault  and  the  other  a  Picard,*  with  whom  the  R.  P.  Louis  Hennepin  was  associated,  in  order  not 
to  lose  the  opportunity  to  proclaim  the  gospel  to  those  people  who  inhabit  the  upper  country  who 
had  never  heard  it.  They  left  Fort  Creve  Coeur  in  the  afternoon  of  the  28th  of  February,  with 
the  Peace  Calumet,  which  is  a  protection  against  the  savages  of  these  countries  that  they  seldom 
violate.  The  said  Michel  Accault  was  somewhat  acquainted  with  their  language  and  their 
customs.  He  knew  all  their  habits,  and  was  a  friend  of  several  of  those  tribes  to  whom  I  sent 
him,  where  he  had  been  acquainted;  also,  he  is  prudent,  courageous  and  cool.  They  had  about 
one  thousand  pounds  of  goods,  such  as  are  most  valued  in  those  regions,  which,  combined  with 
the  Peace  Calumet,  are  never  disregarded  by  those  tribes,  since  they  are  nearly  destitute  of 
everything.  They  met  at  first  a  number  of  Islinois ,  who  were  ascending  their  river  on  a  return 
to  their  village,  who  used  every  effort  to  induce  them  to  abandon  the  journey.  Michel  Accault, 
who  believed  he  should  lose  the  honor  of  accomplishing  the  undertaking,  encouraged  by  the 
example  of  the  R.  P.  Louis  Hennepin,  who  desired  also  to  signify  his  zeal,  and  wishing  to  keep 
his  word  which  he  had  given  me  to  perish  or  to  succeed,  encouraged  his  comrade  who  was 
dispirited  by  the  statements  of  the  savages,  and  made  him  believe  that  the  design  of  the  Indians 
was  to  profit  themselves  with  their  merchandise,  and  to  seize  their  provisions,  and  that  they 
should  not  change  the  resolution  which  they  had  taken.  In  fact,  they  continued  their  journey 
down  the  river  Theakiki  until  the  7th  of  March,  1680,  when  they  fell  in  with  a  nation  called 
Tamaroa ,  or  Ma roa,  about  two  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  where  it  reaches  the  Colbert. 
This  nation  numbers  two  hundred  families  or  thereabout.  They  desired  to  conduct  them  to  their 
village,  situated  at  that  time  on  the  west  coast  of  the  Grand  river,  six  or  seven  leagues  above  the 
entrance  of  the  Iheakiki.  They  would  not  follow  them,  but  arrived,  the  same  day,  at  the  conflu¬ 
ence  of  the  two  rivers,  distant  about  fifty  leagues  from  Fort  Creve  Coeur  and  ninety  from 
the  village  of  the  Islinois.  The  river  Theakiki  is  nearly  everywhere  of  equal  size  throughout 
these  ninety  leagues,  approaching  the  size  of  the  Seine,  in  front  of  Paris,  where  it  is  confined  within 
its  own  bed ;  but  at  various  places,  as  at  Pimiteoui, f  one  league  to  the  east  of  Creve  Coeur,  and 
two  or  three  other  times  below,  it  swells  out  to  one  or  two  leagues,  over  much  space,  while  the 
two  shores  which  border  it  below  the  village  of  the  Islinois ,  are  distant  from  each  other  about 
half  a  league.  The  land  which  they  enclose  between  them  is  swampy,  as  well  as  the  bed  of  the 


*His  real  name  was  Du  Gay.  fPeoria. 


10 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[La  Salle,  i68o. 


river,  and  often  inundated,  especially  after  rains,  which  easily  cause  the  streams  to  leave  their 
channels,  and  expand  them  exceedingly,  though  often  but  a  little  in  height.  That  of  the  Islinois , 
from  their  village  to  the  Grand  river,  has  a  very  deep  and  even  bed.  There  is  a  border  of  timber 
nearly  its  whole  length.  The  low  grounds  all  sustain  very  large  trees  of  all  kinds,  the  slopes  of 
the  shores  being  generally  covered.  But  immediately  after  one  has  crossed  that  which  the  river 
overflows  from  time  to  time,  and  ascended  the  banks,  he  finds  only  beautiful  fields  spread  before 
his  view,  interrupted  here  and  there  with  clumps  of  trees,  which  appear  to  be  there  only  from 
necessity.  These  uninhabited  plains  extend  sometimes  even  to  the  brink  of  the  river,  particu¬ 
larly  about  the  environs  of  the  village,  and  at  sixty  leagues  to  the  east  and  northeast,  where 
timber  can  be  seen  very  rarely  along  the  shore  of  the  river;  but  below  it  is  more  generally 
bordered.  The  current  is  hardly  perceptible  when  there  has  not  been  a  great  fall  of  rain. 
Although  this  happens  only  in  the  spring,  it  is  perfectly  navigable,  nevertheless,  throughout  the 
year,  for  large  boats  as  far  as  to  the  Islinois ,  and  above  that  only  for  canoes,  partly  on  account  of 
the  rapidity  of  the  stream,  and  partly  on  account  of  the  greater  descent  and  the  shoals  which 
destroy  its  depth.  Ice  which  they  encountered  in  the  Grand  river  stopped  them  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Islinois  till  the  12th  of  March.  It  washes  on  the  south  shore  a  steep  rock,  about  forty  feet 
high,  suitable  for  the  establishment  of  a  fort,  and  on  the  opposite  side  extends  a  fine  prairie,  the 
limit  of  which  cannot  be  seen,  very  good  for  cultivation.  This  place  seems  to  me  very  well 
adapted  for  settlement,  for  many  reasons  which  I  have  not  time  here  to  state,  and  I  shall  easily 
be  able  here  to  establish  myself  on  my  return.  Just  at  and  below  Pimiteoui  the  river  turns 
somewhat  to  the  south,  so  that  its  embouchure  is  between  46  and  47  degrees  of  north  latitude,  and 
separated  from  the  gulf  of  Mexico  about  120  or  130  leagues.  There  are  between  Quebec  and 
Montreal  43  leagues  difference  east  and  west;  from  Montreal  to  Fort  Frontenac,  61  leagues  ;  from 
the  fort  to  Niagara,  65  ;  from  Niagara  to  the  head  of  Lake  Erie,  122  ;  from  there  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river  of  the  Mi  amis,  117 ;  from  there  to  the  Islinois ,  52;  thence  to  Pimiteoui ,  or  Creve  Coeur, 
27,  and  from  Creve  Coeur  to  the  Mississippi,  18,  which  makes,  altogether,  about  500  leagues,  or  24 
degrees  of  longitude.  The  Mississipi  appears,  in  leaving  the  mouth  of  the  leatiki ,  to  go  toward  the 
south  and  southwest,  and  above  there  to  come  from  the  north  and  the  northwest.  It  runs  between 
two  ranges  of  mountains  of  considerable  height — much  more  than  that  of  Mt.  Valerian,  which  wind 
about  in  the  same  manner  as  the  river,  from  which  presently  they  fall  back  a  little,  leaving 
between  them  and  its  channel  a  prairie  of  some  width,  which  is  sometimes  washed  by  the  water 
of  the  river,  in  such  a  way  that  when  along  one  coast  it  is  bordered  by  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  on 
the  other  is  formed  a  bay,  the  head  of  which  is  terminated  by  a  prairie  or  by  a  little  patch  of 
woods.  The  slopes  of  these  shores,  which  are  either  of  rubbish  or  of  rock,  are  covered  here  and 
there  with  little  oaks,  and  at  other  times  with  very  beautiful  herbs.  The  height  of  these  moun¬ 
tains  conceals  the  plains  beyond,  which  are  of  rather  poor  land,  quite  different  from  that  of  the 
Islinois,  though  they  sustain  the  same  animals.  The  channel  of  the  great  river,  although,  for  the 
most  part  of  the  width  of  one  or  two  leagues,  is  entirely  intercepted  by  a  number  of  islands 
covered  with  wild  timber,  in  which  are  so  many  vines  that  one  can  hardly  pass  through  it.  These 
are  subject  to  inundation  by  the  overflow  of  the  river.  They  conceal  generally  the  other  shore  of 
the  river  from  view,  so  that  it  is  rarely  seen  because  of  these  islands.  The  bottom  is  very 
uneven,  in  ascending  the  river  above  the  mouth  of  the  Islinois.  There  are  often  shoals  which 
cross  the  channel  from  one  side  to  the  other,  over  which  canoes  have  difficulty  in  passing.  It  is 
true  that  in  the  current  of  the  stream  there  is  generally  sufficient  water  to  float  the  largest  vessels  ; 
but  there  the  stream  is  extremely  rough  and  difficult  to  make  headway.  The  Mississipi  does  not 
receive  any  considerable  rivers  from  the  west  side,  from  the  river  of  the  Islinois  up  to  the  country 
of  the  Nadouessioux,  where  it  receives  that  of  the  Otoutantas,  Paote  and  Maskoutens ,  who  are) 
the  Nadouessioux  of  the  East,  about  one  hundred  leagues  from  Teakiki. 

THE  WISCONSIN  VALLEY  AND  THE  ROUTE  TO  GREEN  BAY. 

Following  the  course  of  the  Mississipi,  one  finds  the  river  Ouisconsing ,  Misconsing  or 
Mesclietz  Odeba,  which  flows  between  the  bay  of  the  Puans  and  the  Grand  river.  It  runs  at  first 
from  the  north  to  the  south,  to  about  the  45th  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  from  there  turns 
to  the  west  and  southwest,  and  after  a  course  of  sixty  leagues,  falls  into  the  Mississipi.  It  is 
almost  as  large  as  that  of  the  Islinois,  navigable  up  to  that  bend  where  a  canoe  portage  is  made 


i68o.  La  Salle.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


11 


across  a  divide  and  a  swampy  prairie  to  reach  the  river  Kakaling ,  which  falls  into  the  bay  of  the 
Puans ,  and  perhaps  further.  The  Misconsing  runs  between  two  hill-ranges,  which  recede  from 
time  to  time  and  leave  between  them  and  the  river  prairies  of  considerable  size,  and  lands 
untimbered,  which  are  sandy  and  sterile.  At  other  times  the  patch  which  is  between  these  ridges 
and  the  river  is,  in  places,  more  low  and  marshy ;  and  then  it  is  covered  with  timber  and  is 
flooded  by  the  overflows  of  the  river.  The  mountains  diminish  imperceptibly  in  size  as  one 
ascends  the  river,  and  at  lerfgtli,  about  three  leagues  from  the  portage,  the  land  becomes  flat  and 
marshy,  open  on  the  side  from  which  the  portage  sets  out,  and  covered  with  pines  on  the  other 
side.  The  place  where  the  canoes  are  carried  is  marked  by  a  tree,  on  which  there  are  two  canoes 
rudely  delineated  by  the  savages ;  whence,  after  having  walked  about  half  a  league,  the  river 
Kakaling  [Fox]  is  found,  which  is  only  a  rivulet  rising  from  a  marsh,  and  which  winds  about 
exceedingly,  forming  little  lakes  by  enlarging  itself,  and  then  often  becoming  narrow.  It  is  followed 
about  40  leagues,  in  the  course  of  the  bends  it  makes,  and  then  is  found  the  village  of  the  Outaga- 
mies.  At  one-half  league  from  the  river,  on  the  north  side,  before  arriving  there,  the  river  falls  into 
a  lake  which  may  be  eight  leagues  long  and  three  leagues  wide ;  and  after  passing  the  village  about 
two  leagues  are  found  the  Kakaling  rapids,  which  are  difficult  to  descend  on  account  of  the  swiftness 
of  the  water,  the  frequency  of  rocks  which  it  encounters,  and  three  waterfalls  where  it  is 
necessary  to  carry  the  canoes  and  their  burden.  They  continue  six  leagues.  Three  leagues 
below  them,  at  the  debouchure  of  this  river  into  the  bay  of  the  Puans ,  is  a  house  of  the  Jesuits, 
who  truly  have  the  key  to  the  country  of  the  beaver,  where  a  brother  blacksmith  whom  they 
have,  and  two  companions,  have  changed  more  iron  into  beaver  than  the  Fathers  have  of  savages 
into  Christians. 

About  23  or  24  leagues  to  the  north,  or  northwest,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ouisconsing  [Wis¬ 
consin],  which  has  also  a  rocky  coast  on  the  south  side  and  a  beautiful  prairie  on  the  north,  near 
to  three  beautiful  basins  or  bays  of  quiet  water,  is  the  river  Noire  [Black],  called  Chabadeba  by 
the  Nadouesioux.  This  is  of  inconsiderable  size,  and  at  its  mouth  it  is  bordered  on  both  sides  by 
alders.  Ascending  about  30  leagues,  all  the  way  in  nearly  the  same  direction,  we  have  the  river 
Boeufs [Chippewa],  about  as  large  at  its  mouth  as  that  of  the  Islinois.  It  is  so  called  because  of  the 
number  of  these  animals  which  are  there  found.  It  was  explored  ten  or  twelve  leagues,  and  it 
remains  of  the  same  size  and  without  rapids,  bordered  by  mountains,  which  are  separated  farther, 
occasionally,  so  as  to  form  prairies.  There  are  several  islands  at  its  mouth,  and  it  is  lined  with 
woods  on  both  shores. 

LA  SALLE’S  OPINION  OF  DU  LUTH. 

Thirty-eight  or  forty  leagues  higher  is  found  the  river  by  which  Du  Luth  descended 
to  the  Mississipi.  For  three  years  he  had  been,  contrary  to  orders,  with  a  band  of  coureurs 
des  bois ,  in  the  lake  Superior  region.  He  had  acted  very  boldly  there,  publishing  every¬ 
where  that  at  the  head  of  his  braves  he  did  not  fear  the  Grand  Prevost ,  and  that  he  would 
forcibly  make  him  grant  him  amnesty.  The  coureurs  des  bois ,  to  whom  he  first  had  revealed  his 
pretence,  have  been  several  times  in  the  settlement,  and  have  returned  carrying  merchandise  and 
furs,  of  which  they  have  meantime  despoiled  lake  Superior,  from  all  the  approaches  to  which 
they  have  kept  out  the  Outaouac  during  this  year,  so  that  they  could  not  descend  to  Montreal. 

During  this  time  and  while  he  wras  at  lake  Superior,  the  Nadouesioux,  invited  by  the  presents 
which  the  late  Sieur  Randin  had  made  them  in  behalf  of  Count  Frontenac,  and  the  Sauteurs,  who 
are  the  savages  that  bring  the  most  peltries  to  Montreal,  and  who  dwell  at  lake  Superior,  wishing 
to  observe  the  repeated  injunctions  of  said  Frontenac,  concluded  a  peace,  which  was  to  unite  the 
nation  of  the  Sauteurs  to  the  French,  and  to  allow  them  to  go  in  trade  to  the  country  of  the 
Nadouesioux ,  distant  about  60  leagues  to  the  west  from  lake  Superior.  Du  Luth,  in  order  to 
conceal  his  desertion,  took  this  occasion  to  give  it  some  excuse,  and  causes  himself,  with  two  of 
his  fellow-deserters  to  pass  as  an  envoy  of  the  Count  and  charged  with  his  orders,  for  the  purpose 
of  negotiating  that  peace — during  which  his  comrades  negotiate  for  a  great  number  of  beaver. 
He  had  a  number  of  conferences  with  the  Nadouesioux,  and  as  he  had  no  interpreter,  he  bribed 
one  of  mine,  named  Faffert,  till  then  a  soldier  at  Fort  Frontenac.  Finally,  the  Sauteurs  having 
been  several  times  back  and  forth  to  the  Nadouesioux ,  and  the  Nadouesioux  to  the  Sauteurs ,  seeing 
that  there  was  nothing  to  fear,  and  that  it  was  possible  to  increase  the  number  of  their  beaver,  he 


I 


12 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[La  Salle,  1680. 


sent  there  this  Eaffert,  by  land,  with  some  Nadouesioux  and  Sauteurs,  who  returned  in  company 
with  him.  This  young  man  having  made  a  report  on  his  return  of  the  number  of  beaver  which 
he  might  obtain  from  that  direction,  he  resolved  to  attempt  to  go  there  himself;  and  under  the 
guidance  of  a  Sauteur  and  a  Nadouesioux ,  with  four  Frenchmen,  they  ascended  the  Nemitsakouat, 
whence,  by  a  short  portage,  he  descended  into  that  in  which  he  said  he  had  passed  forty  leagues 
of  rapids ;  and  having  seen  that  the  Nadouesioux  were  further  down  with  my  men  and  the  Father,? 
having  gone  down  the  river  from  the  village  of  the  Nadouesioux  where  they  had  already  been,  he 
comes  on  to  find  them.  He  returned  to  the  village,  whence  they  all  together  re-descended  and  by 
the  way  of  the  river  Ouisconsing  reached  Montreal.  There  he  was  considerably  elated  at  having 
been  one  of  their  party,  having  even  insulted  the  commissaries,  and  also  the  Deputy  ITocureur, 
(at  present  the  Procureur- General),  named  d’Auteuil.  Mons.  le  Comte  de  Frontenac  had  him 
arrested,  and  took  measures  to  keep  him  in  prison  in  the  bastile  at  Quebec,  intending  to  send  him 
to  France  on  the  certification  of  the  facts  by  Mons.  Plntendant,  to  the  end  that  the  amnesty 
granted  to  his  coureurs  des  bois  should  not  result  in  his  discharge. 

To  know  who  this  Du  Luth  is,  it  is  necessary  that  you  be  informed  by  Mons.  Dalera. 
Meantime  he  pretends  to  have  made  a  considerable  discovery,  and  to  demand  this  country  as  if  to 
the  advantage  of  the  Islinois ,  a  proceeding  which  is  quite  agreeable,  and  which  he  hopes  may 
compensate  for  his  rebellion.  Secondly,  there  are  only  three  routes  by  which  to  go  there— one  is 
by  lake  Superior,  the  second  by  the  bay  of  the  Puans ,  and  the  third  by  the  Islinois  and  the  terri¬ 
tory  that  is  covered  by  my  commission.  The  first  two  lie  under  suspicion,  and  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  open  to  him  the  third  to  my  disadvantage,  he  not  having  incurred  any  expense,  and 
having  made  great  gain  without  risk,  at  the  same  time  that  I  have  endured  great  fatigues,  perils 
and  losses.  Further,  through  the  Islinois  is  a  detour  of  three  hundred  leagues  for  him.  For  the 
greater  part  of  the  country  of  the  Nadouesioux  is  not  that  which  he  has  discovered.  It  has  been 
known  for  a  long  time,  and  the  R.  P.  Hennepin  and  Michel  Accault  were  there  before  him.  Even 
that  one  of  his  fellow-deserters  who  was  there,  was  one  of  my  soldiers  whom  he  bribed.  Further¬ 
more  this  country  is  not  habitable,  little  adapted  to  cultivation,  having  only  marshes  full  of  wild 
rice  ( folle  avoine )  on  which  the  people  live ;  and  there  can  be  derived  from  this  discovery  no 
advantage  whether  it  be  attributable  to  my  men  or  to  Du  Luth,  because  the  streams  are  not 
navigable.  But  the  king  having  granted  us  the  trade  in  buffalo  hides,  this  would  be  ruined  in 
going  to  and  coming  from  the  Nadouesioux  by  any  other  route  than  by  lake  Superior  by  which 
Count  Frontenac  has  power  to  send  him  there  in  search  for  beaver,  in  pursuance  of  the  authority 
which  he  has  to  grant  permits.  But  if  they  go  by  way  of  the  Ouisconsing ,  where  for  the  present  the 
chase  of  the  buffalo  is  carried  on,  and  where  I  have  commenced  an  establishment,  they  will  ruin 
the  trade  of  which  alone  I  am  laying  the  foundation  on  account  of  the  great  number  of  buffaloes 
which  are  taken  there  every  year,  almost  beyond  belief. 


LA  SALLE’S  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 


Ascending  still  the  Mississipi,  at  twenty  leagues  above  this  river,  are  found  the  falls  which 
those  whom  I  sent,  and  who  passed  there  first  of  all,  named  from  St.  Anthony.  They  have  the 
height  of  thirty  or  forty  feet,  and  there  the  river  is  also  narrow.  There  is  an  island  in  the 
midst  of  the  fall,  and  the  two  shores  of  the  river  are  no  longer  bordered  by  mountains,  which 
diminish  insensibly  up  to  there  ;*  but  the  land  on  both  sides  is  covered  with  light  timber,  **  as 
we  style  it,  that  is  to  say,  oaks  and  other  hard  woods,  standing  far  apart,  such  as'  grow  only  in 
poor  lands.  There  are  also  some  prairies.  Here  the  canoes  are  carried  about  three  or  four  hun¬ 
dred  steps,  and  eight  leagues  above  is  the  river  of  the  Nadoesioux ,  on  the  westf  side.  It  is  narrow 
at  its  entrance  and  drains  a  poor  country  covered  with  shrubs  through  about  fifty  leagues,  where 
it  terminates  in  a  lake  called  lake  of  the  Issati ,  which  spreads  over  a  great  marsh  where  grows  the 
wild  rice,  at  the  point  of  its  outlet  in  this  river. 


♦Hennepin  says  the  mountains  extend  only  to  the  mouth  ot  the  Wisconsin.  g  Hennepin. 

**  Perhaps  this  bois  clairs  means  deciduous  trees. 

fThis  is  evidently  an  error  of  some  copyist,  as  the  river,  which  is  well  known  as  Rum  river,  is  an  eastern  tribu¬ 
tary  of  the  Mississippi. 


i68o,  La  Salle.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


18 


CAPTURE  OF  ACCAULT  AND  HIS  PARTY. 

The  Mississipi  comes  from  the  west,  but  it  was  not  followed  because  of  the  adventure 
which  happened  to  R.  P.  Louis,  Michel  Accault  and  their  comrade.  This  affair  happened  in 
this  way.  After  having  pursued  the  course  of  the  Mississipi  till  the  11th  of  April  about 
three  o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  rowing  along  the  shore  on  the  side  of  the  Islinois,  a  band 
of  a  hundred  Nadouesioux  warriors  who  were  going  to  slaughter  some  of  the  Tchat chakigona , * 
were  descending  the  same  river  in  thirty-three  canoes  made  of  birch  bark.  There  were  with 
them  three  women,  and  one  of  those  slaves  who  serve  the  women,  although  they  are  men, 
whom  the  Islinois  call  Ikoueta.  They  passed  along  on  the  other  side  of  some  islands,  and  so 
several  of  the  canoes  had  descended  below  that  of  the  Frenchmen;  but  descrying  it  they  all 
gathered  together,  and  those  who  had  gone  below*  returning  with  all  haste,  they  easily  encom¬ 
passed  it  about  and  closed  up  the  way.  There  was  one  party  of  them  on  the  land,  who  surrounded 
them  on  that  side.  Michel  Accault,  who  was  the  leader,  presented  them  the  calumet.  They 
accepted  it  and  smoked,  after  having  made  a  circle  on  the  ground  covered  with  straw  where  they 
caused  the  Frenchmen  to  sit  down.  Immediately  two  of  the  old  men  began  to  weep  for  the  death 
of  those  of  their  kinsmen  whom  they  designed  to  avenge  ;  and  after  having  taken  some  tobacco 
they  made  our  men  embark,  and  cross  over  first  to  the  other  side  of  the  river.  They  followed  on, 
after  having  uttered  three  cries,  and  pushed  their  canoes  with  all  haste.  On  disembarking  Michel 
Accault  presented  them  with  twenty  knives  and  a  measure  and  a  half  of  tobacco,  which  they 
accepted.  They  had  already  stolen  a  demi-pique  and  several  other  small  articles.  They  then 
traveled  together  ten  days,  without  giving  any  sign  of  discontent  or  of  evil  design  ;  but  on  the 
22nd  of  April,  having  reached  the  islands  where  they  had  slain  some  Maskoutens,  they  put  the 
two  dead  whom  they  were  going  to  avenge,  and  whose  bones  they  carried  with  them,  between  P. 
Louis  and  Michel  Accault.  This  is  an  ambiguous  ceremony  which  they  perform  before  their 
friends  in  order  to  incite  them  to  compassion,  and  to  cause  them  to  make  presents  to  cover  them 
with,  and  before  their  slaves  whom  they  take  in  war  to  make  them  understand  that  they  must 
expect  a  treatment  like  to  that  which  they  render  to  the  dead.  Michel  Accault  unfortunately  did 
not  understand  this  nation,  and  there  was  not  one  slave  of  the  other  nations  whom  he  did  under¬ 
stand,  which  hardly  ever  happens,  all  the  tribes  in  America  having  a  number  of  those  to  whom 
they  have  granted  life  in  order  to  replace  their  dead,  after  having  sacrificed  a  great  number  to 
satisfy  their  vengeance.  This  enables  them  to  understand  almost  all  the  tribes,  since  they  become 
acquainted  with  three  or  four  languages  of  those  tribes  who  go  farthest  in  war,  such  as  the  Iro¬ 
quois ,  the  Islinois ,  the  Akonsa ,  the  Nadouesioux  and  Sauteurs.  Accault  understood  all  these 
except  the  Nadouesioux  ;  yet  there  are  among  them  a  number  who  have  been  slaves  with  the 
others,  or  who  had  come  from  them  and  have  been  taken  in  war,  but  by  chance  he  did  not  find 
one  of  them  in  this  company  to  interpret  him  to  the  others.  It  was  necessary  to  give  a  full  case 
of  merchandise,  and  the  next  day  twenty-four  hatchets.  At  eight  leagues  below  the  falls  of  St. 
Anthony  they  determined  to  go  by  land  to  their  village,  distant  about  sixty  leagues  from  the 
place  of  disembarking,  not  being  willing  to  carry  the  goods  of  our  men,  nor  to  conduct  them  there 
by  water.  They  made  them  then  give  up  the  rest  of  their  hatchets,  which  they  shared  amongst 
themselves,  promising  to  repay  them  well  at  the  village ;  but  two  days  afterward  they  divided  also 
among  themselves  two  cases  of  merchandise,  and,  falling  into  a  quarrel  concerning  the  division 
both  of  the  merchandise  and  of  the  tobacco,  each  chief  claiming  to  be  the  master,  they  sepa¬ 
rated  in  jealousy  as  they  led  the  Frenchmen  toward  the  village,  where  they  promised  to  make 
satisfaction  with  beaver  skins  which  they  said  they  had  in  great  number. 

THE  TARTY  AT  MlLLE  LACS. 

There  they  were  received  well,  and  at  once  made  a  banquet  for  Accault,  who  was  in  a  differ¬ 
ent  village  from  that  where  the  R.  P.  Louis  and  the  Picard  were,  but  who  were  there  also  well 
received  except  that,  several  sportive  young  men  having  told  the  Picard  to  sing,  the  fear  that  he 
experienced  made  a  coward  of  him,  since  only  slaves  sing  on  arriving  at  a  village.  Accault,  who 
was  not  there,  was  not  able  to  prevent  it ;  but  they  were  subjected  to  no  other  treatment  like  that 


♦Hennepin  says  Onlay  amis,  and  Parkman  says  Miainis. 


14 


THE  GEOLOGY.  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[La  Salle,  1680. 


which  they  impose  on  slaves.  They  were  never  tied ;  and  after  that,  they  promised  the  return  of 
that  which  their  young  men  had  seized,  since  Accault,  who  had  found  some  men  to  whom  he 
could  make  himself  understood,  made  them  comprehend  the  importance  of  it,  when  they  imme¬ 
diately  danced  two  calumets,  and  offered  several  beaver  skins  with  which  to  begin  the  payment ; 
but  as  these  were  too  little  Accault  would  not  be  satisfied.  Six  weeks  afterward,  all  having 
returned  to  the  Ouisconsing  with  the  Nadoesioux  on  a  hunt,  the  R.  P.  Louis  Hennepin  and  the  Picard 
resolved  to  go  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  where  I  had  promised  to  send  messages,  as  I  had  done  by 
six  men,  -whom  the  Jesuits  deceived,  telling  them  that  the  R.  P.  Louis  and  his  fellow  travelers 
had  been  slain.  They  allowed  them  to  go  there  alone,  to  show  them  they  were  not  regarded  as 
slaves,  and  that  Du  Luth  is  wrong  in  boasting  of  having  released  them  from  slavery,  since  on  the 
journey  and  as  long  as  their  food  lasted,  the  Frenchmen  had  the  best,  although  they  suffered  great 
hunger  when  the  savages  were  without  food.  Jealousy  was  the  sole  cause  of  the  pillage, 
because,  as  they  were  from  different  villages,  and  but  few  from  that  where  the  Frenchmen  were 
to  go,  they  did  it  in  order  to  secure  their  portion  of  the  merchandise,  of  which  they  feared  they 
would  receive  none  if  they  once  entered  the  village  where  the  Frenchmen  were  to  go ;  but  the 
old  men  blamed  greatly  the  young  men,  and  offered  and  even  began  to  make  the  restitution  that 
Accault  ought  to  have.  They  regarded  the  French  so  little  as  slaves  that  they  gave  to  R.  P. 
Louis  and  the  Picard  a  canoe  to  go  in  search  of  my  messengers.  All  that  Du  Luth  can  say  is,  that 
having  come  to  the  place  where  the  Father  and  the  two  Frenchmen  had  gone  in  a  hunt  from  the 
village,  where,  along  with  them  he  went  for  the  first  time  when  they  returned  there,  he  made  it 
easier  for  them  to  return  sooner  than  they  would  have  done,  because  messengers  whom  I  had  sent 
had  been  dissuaded  from  going  on ;  but  we  should  have  been  in  search  for  them  the  following 
spring  if  we  had  not  learned,  as  we  did  in  the  winter,  of  their  return  by  way  of  the  Outagamis. 
Accault  found  himself  so  little  a  slave  that  he  was  intending  to  remain  there  until  he  should 
receive  the  payment  that  had  been  promised  him. 

LA  SALLE  JUSTIFIES  THE  EXPEDITION. 

I  do  not  doubt  but  several  things  may  be  said  of  this  expedition. 

(1.)  That  I  ought  to  have  sent  a  man  who  understood  the  language.  To  this  it  is  easy  to 
reply  that  I  did  not  send  Accault  to  the  Nadouesioux  but  to  explore  the  Grand  river,  that  he 
understood  the  language  of  those  who  were  nearest,  such  as  the  Otontanta  the  Aiounouea,  the 
Kikapou  and  the  Maskoutens  Nadouesioux  through  whom  he  was  to  pass  first,  and  to  take  an 
interpreter  from  there  for  going  further  on,  it  being  impossible  to  send  those  who  understood  all 
the  languages.  « 

It  will  be  said  also  that  in  the  first  expeditions  it  was  not  necessary  to  go  with  so  much 
merchandise,  which  tempts  the  young  men,  already  under  bad  subjection  to  the  elders,  and  leads 
them  to  deeds  which  they  would  not  do  if  they  saw  nothing  which  tempted  them.  To  this  I 
reply  that,  sending  to  those  nations  with  whom  we  had  acquaintance  through  the  Islinois ,  and  to 
whom  Accault  was  a  friend,  because  he  had  passed  two  winters  and  a  summer  there,  during 
which  time  he  had  seen  several  of  the  most  important  of  their  villages  where  he  was  to  pass, 
whom  he  had  won  by  little  presents,  there  was  nothing  to  fear,  at  least  in  all  probability— there 
being  no  likelihood  that  they  would  encounter  an  army  of  the  Nadouesioux  three  hundred  leagues 
from  that  country.  (2)  These  voyages  being  difficult,  those  who  undertake  them  do  it  only 
through  the  hope  of  gain,  which  they  could  not  accomplish  without  merchandise.  (3)  Several 
of  those  savages  having  come  to  the  Islinois  while  we  were  there,  and  having  seen  the  merchan¬ 
dise  which  we  had  there,  they  would  be  filled  either  with  anger  or  jealousy,  believing  that  going 
into  their  country  with  but  little  would  be  either  from  a  want  of  friendship  for  them  or  from 
some  evil  design.  Finally,  wishing  to  attract  them  to  come  and  buy  of  our  commodities  and  to 
make  them  accustomed  to  the  use  of  them,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  a  somewhat  considerable 
quantity  of  them. 

I  have  thought  it  proper  to  give  you  this  account  of  the  adventures  of  this  canoe,  because 
I  do  not  doubt  its  being  spoken  of,  and  if  you  wish  to  confer  with  Father  Louis  Hennepin,  Recol¬ 
lect,  about  it,  who  has  returned  to  France,  it  is  well  to  know  something  of  it,  for  he  will  not  fail 
to  exaggerate  everything ;  it  is  his  character ;  and  to  me  even  he  has  written  as  if  he  had  been  nearly 
burnt  up,  although  he  has  not  been  even  in  danger  of  it ;  but  he  believes  it  is  honorable  in  him  to 
act  in  that  way,  and  he  speaks  more  in  accordance  with  what  he  wishes  than  what  he  knows. 


LlPveiy 

...  r-  f)>  Mr 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


i 


PAGE  .5 


>1  uaumd  deS 
RecrtUcU  «Qo  i 


Hand otid 


sur  /Eieorce  d'vn 
Ck&dne  <t  Letulrvit 

mcurque.  A 


,  <&*>  Oua  dcBattcmj 

’ 8 , 40-d& 


cnJ  de  A  cu  t e re 


Sault  def. 

Anloi/ie  de  Pa  do 


'n  *ck« 

,tdu\P»*tL 


AS»T*  (V- 


’/y-it 


:  t&J0  dot* r 

J?  a*ad  i 
•yjtaye  1 
ecoiUcid  ' 


fort 

{Pi-cue  i 

L  at* 


a  Lo  wisi  a 


TAMGtj^r  \ 

»e^  r* 

Reduced  tor  the  deal  off  tea  l  and 


/’AGE  6 


mil  lHstorv  .tWr  pt' Minn c.vota 


. )  Bleu ,  Photo,  lith. X  .Y 


UNIVERSIfV  of  ILLINOIS 


1688,  La  Hontan.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


15 


Hennepin’s  account  of  the  capture  and  captivity  among  the  Nadoue- 
sioux  is  more  circumstantial  than  that  of  La  Salle,  but  in  the  main  similar 
to  his.  Hennepin,  however,  recounts  various  indignities  and  deprivations 
to  which  they  were  subjected,  regarding  himself  as  a  prisoner  and  a  slave 
while  at  lake  Buade. 

“In  the  beginning  of  July”  the  Frenchmen  set  out  with  the  Indians  on 
a  grand  buffalo-hunt  down  the  Mississippi.  In  four  days  they  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Francis,  or  Rum  river,*  where  they  halted  for  the  purpose 
of  making  more  canoes;  while  Hennepin  and  the  Picard  proceeded  down  the 
Mississippi  alone  in  a  poor  canoe  intending  to  reach  the  Wisconsin  river, 
where  La  Salle  had  agreed  to  send  messages  to  them.  It  is  probable,  there¬ 
fore,  that  Hennepin  first  saw  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  on  the  5th  day  of 
July,  1680,f  in  company  with  the  Picard  alone.  On  the  11th  they  were  not 
far  from  the  Wisconsin,  after  some  adventure  and  delay. 

It  is  plain,  also,  that  Hennepin  saw  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  before  he 
encountered  Du  Luth,  and  may  be  accredited  with  the  first  recorded  exam¬ 
ination  of  the  Mississippi  between  the  Wisconsin  river  and  the  Rum  river, 
and  Du  Luth  with  the  first  visit  to  the  St.  Croix  river,  which  he  prob¬ 
ably  descended  from  the  headwaters  of  the  Bois  Brule,  known  then  as  the 
Nemissakouat.  (Plate-pages  5  and  6.) 

LA  HONTAN  IN  MINNESOTA. 

Baron  La  Hontan’s  work,  in  which  he  describes  a  voyage  on  the  river 
Long,  made  by  himself  in  the  winter  of  1688-89,  is  largely  fictitious.  He 
states  that  he  traveled  sixty  days  in  winter  on  a  river  500  miles  long,  at 
the  mouth  of  which  are  many  rushes,  which  entered  the  Mississippi  from 
the  west.  Mr.  J.  N.  Nicollet  regards  the  river  that  La  Hontan  entered  as 
the  Cannon  river.  It  has  also  been  suggested  that  on  ascending  this  river  to 
its  source  he  passed  into  the  Minnesota  river,  through  some  of  the  canoe 
routes  and  lakes  which  cause  the  headwaters  of  the  Cannon  to  interlock 
with  those  of  the  Le  Sueur.  Keating,  the  chronicler  of  Major  Long’s 
expedition  to  the  sources  of  the  St.  Peter,  supposed  that  the  Root  river 

*  On  modern  maps  the  name  of  St.  Francis  is  applied  to  the  next  stream  above  the  Rum,  and  that  may  have  been 
the  l  iver  to  which  Hennepin  referred  in  his  iournal,  since  by  a  portage  the  route  by  it  to  lake  Buade  is  much  less  than 
the  course  of  the  Rum  river,  and  the  Indians  may  have  followed  that  route. 

t  The  Minnesota  Historical  Society  celebrated  July'5,  1880.  as  the  Bi-centennial  of  the  discovery  of  the  Falls  of  St 
Anthony. 


1G  THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 

[Le  Sueur,  1700. 

was  the  one  referred  to  by  La  Hontan,  while  others,  with  perhaps  as  good 
reasons,  think*  he  actually  entered  the  Minnesota  river.  The  very  general 
and  vague  description  which  he  makes  of  the  physical  character  of  the 
valley  of  the  Riviere  Longe  will  apply  with  equal  correctness  to  either  of 
these  valleys,  hut  the  direction  of  the  river  he  says  he  explored,  as 
represented  on  his  map,  can  only  apply  to  the  Root  river.  The  Root  river 
is  less  likely  to  be  frozen  in  winter  than  either  of  the  others,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  it  is  derived  largely  from  copious  springs  and  subterranean  streams 
that  flow  from  the  rocky  bluffs  between  which  it  runs  (see  the  geology  of 
Fillmore  county),  and  is  a  larger  stream  than  the  Cannon,  and  further  south.* 

LE  SUEUR  IN  THE  MINNESOTA  VALLEY. 

/ 

Although  there  is  mention  made  in  the  treatise  of  Nicholas  Perrot,  a 
trader  and  interpreter,  and  later  an  agent  of  the  government  in  the  upper 
Mississippi  region,  on  the  habits,  customs  and  religions  of  the  savages  of  North 
America,  of  the  St.  Croix  and  St.  Peter’s  rivers,  there  seems  to  have  been 
no  further  extension  of  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  the  region  till  the 
•time  of  Le  Sueur. 

The  first  accredited  exploration  of  the  Minnesota  valley  was  made  by 
Le  Sueur,  who  first  visited  the  upper  Mississippi  in  1683,  with  Perrot,  in 
the  interests  of  trade.  He  built  a  trading-post  on  Isle  Pelee,  a  few  miles 
below  Hastings,  in  1695,  and  in  1699  received  a  commission  from  D’Iberville 
to  visit  and  examine  a  copper  mine  which  he  claimed  to  have  discovered 
in  the  country  of  the  Ioways.  In  April,  1700,  with  a  single  shallop  and 
about  twenty-five  persons,  he  started  from  the  settlements  on  the  lower 
Mississippi  for  the  mouth  of  the  Minnesota  river,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
19th  of  September  ;  and  on  the  last  day  of  the  same  month,  being  stopped 
by  ice  forty-four  leagues  above  its  union  with  the  Mississippi,  he  determined 
to  build  his  fort.  His  narrator,  Penicaut,  who  was  also  his  carpenter,  states 
that  this  place  was  a  league  up  the  Green  river  (now  the  Blue  Earth)  on  a 
point  of  land  a  quarter  of  a  league  distant  f  rom  the  ivoods.  This  river  was 
so  called  “because  it  is  of  that  color  by  reason  of  a  green  earth,  which, 
loosening  itself  from  the  copper  mines,  becomes  dissolved  in  it  and  makes 

*  Coxc  in  French’s  Hist.  Col.  of  Louisiana,  Part  II.,  p.  233,  says  lake  Papin  was  above  the  “Long”  river  oi 
La  Hontan. 


1701,  Ls  Sueur.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


17 


it  green.”  Four  leagues  above  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix,  at  the  mouth  of 
a  small  lake,  Le  Sueur  saw  a  large  mass  of  copper.  “  It  is  on  the  edge  of 
the  water,  in  a  small  ridge  of  sandy  earth,  on  the  west  of  this  lake.”*  The 
blue,  or  green,  earth,  which  was  mistaken  for  an  ore  of  copper  by  Le  Sueur, 
was  obtained  in  a  mine  three-quarters  of  a  league  distant  from  the  fort. 
The  fort  was  named  L’Huillier,  from  one  of  the  chief  collectors  of  the 
king,  who  had  assayed  the  ore  in  Paris  in  1696.  Having  spent  the  winter 
at  his  fort,  in  the  spring  of  1701  he  descended  the  Mississippi  with  a  large 
quantity  of  the  ore,  4,000  pounds  of  which  were  sent  to  France.  He 
intended  to  return,  but  in  1703  the  garrison  left  by  him  arrived  at  Mobile, 
in  charge  of  Derague,  having  been  compelled  to  abandon  the  post  on 
account  of  ill  treatment  by  the  Indians,  and  lack  of  supplies.  This,  river 
is  further  described  as  being  near  a  range  of  hills  (Keating  says  mountains ) 
ten  leagues  long  that  seemed  to  be  composed  of  the  same  substance. 
Charlevoix  says  :  “  After  removing  a  burnt,  black  crust,  as  hard  as  a  rock, 

the  copper  could  be  scraped  with  a  knife.”  Penicaut  says  :  “  This  mine  is 

situated  at  the  beginning  of  a  very  long  mountain  which  is  upon  the  bank 
of  the  river,  so  that  boats  can  go  right  to  the  mouth  of  the  mine  itself.  At 
this  place  is  the  green  earth,  which  is  a  foot  and  a  half  in  thickness,  and 
above  it  is  a  Jayer  of  earth  as  firm  and  hard  as  stone,  and  black  and  burnt 
like  coal  by  the  exhalation  from  the  mine.  The  copper  is  scratched  out 
with  a  knife.  There  are  no  trees  upon  this  mountain.  If  this  mine  is 
good,  it  will  make  a  great  trade,  because  the  mountain  contains  more  than 
ten  leagues  running  of  the  same  ground.  It  appears,  according  to  our 
observations,  that  in  the  very  finest  weather  there  is  continually  a  fog 
upon  this  mountain.”! 

Mr.  W.  W.  Mather,  who  accompanied  Featherstonhaugh,  says  that  he 
“  found  the  green  earth,  but  it  contained  no  copper.”  Mr.  Featherstonaugh 
is  very  positive  in  his  denial  of  the  existence  of  any  copper  in  that  locality, 
and  pronounces  the  whole  account  a  fabrication  by  Le  Sueur. 

It  is  more  probable  that  Le  Sueur  was  honest  in  his  conviction,  but  was 
mistaken  in  the  value  of  the  green  earth  which  he  mined.  Charlevoix, 
La  Harpe  and  Penicaut  agree  in  the  statement  of  the  main  facts,  and  if 


*  Neill’s  Minnesota,  p  161. 

f  Translated  by  A.  J  Hill,  in  the  Third  Volume  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Collections. 


2 


18 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Ochagach,  1730. 


Le  Sueur  took  a  quantity  to  France  for  assay,  it  is  not  likely  that  he 
wilfully  falsified  the  facts  as  to  its  origin  and  nature.  There  can  be  no 
question  of  the  existence  of  both  green  and  blue  earth  in  that  vicinity. 
The  shales  of  the  Cretaceous  are  common  in  that  part  of  the  state,  and 

N. 

there  is  also  a  clayey  deposit,  supposed  to  be  of  the  Cretaceous,  found  lying 
unconformably  in  eroded  places  in  the  Cambrian  limestones  of  that  valley. 
The  hard,  black,  burnt  crust  mentioned,  which,  on  being  scraped,  exhibited 
the  copper,  can  be  no  other  than  the  ironstone  incrustation  that  covers  the 
Cambrian  limestones,  as  seen  at  Mankato,  wherever  the  Cretaceous  clays  lie 
unconformably  over  them. 

ochagach’s  map. 

The  oldest  map  of  the  region  west  of  lake  Superior  was  traced  by  a 
chief  of  the  Assiniboines,  named  Ochagach,  for  Yerendrye,  in  1730,  and 
was  taken  by  Yerendrye  to  the  governor  of  Canada  to  induce  him  to  equip 
an  exploring  expedition  in  search  of  a  passage  to  the  western  ocean.  This 
map  was  sent  to  Paris  and  deposited  in  the  Archives  de  la  Marine.  A 
reduced  transcript  of  this  map  is  given  below  (Fig.  1.),  derived  from  a  fac¬ 
simile  tracing  in  the  Department  of  American  History  of  the  Minnesota 
Historical  Society,  through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Neill.  It  was  reproduced 
on  the  margin  of  Buache’s  map  of  1754,  and  its  contents  are  also  incor¬ 
porated  in  Buache’s  general  Carte  Physique.  (Y.  Plate  4.)  It  gave  rise 
to  the  important  and  extensive  explorations  of  Sieur  Yerendrye  and  his 
sons  and  nephew  (Jeremaye),  which  extended  through  several  years  and 
covered  the  valleys  of  the  Assiniboine  and  Saskatchawan,  as  well  as  those 
of  the  upper  Missouri  and  the  Yellowstone,  to  the  “shining  mountains.” 

The  water-course  rudely  represented  on  this  chart,  extending  westward 
from  lake  Superior,  is  that  which  afterward  became  the  international 
boundary.  The  river  marked  “R.  de  fond  du  L.  Superieur”  is  evidently 
that  which  is  now  known  as  Yermilion  river,  north  of  Yennilion  lake,  and 
derived  its  designation  by  Ochagach  from  the  fact  that  it  furnished  the 
main  route,  for  east-bound  canoes,  to  the  head  of  lake  Superior  and  the 
south  shore  of  that  lake ;  and,  for  a  similar  reason,  that  marked  “  Missis- 
sipi  ”  represents  the  Big  Fork  river.  The  “  Fleuve  de  l’ouest  ”  is  evidently 
the  present  Saskatchawan  river,  flowing  into  lake  Winnipeg  from  the  west, 


1766,  Carver.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


19 


and  rising  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Plate  IV  however,  represents  the 
river  of  the  west  as  flowing  into  the  Pacific,  rising  in  lake  Crochet  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  sources  of  the  Missouri. 


Cpi  i  ^ 


1  SZfyAfcf 
SiM-m/yz 

Grti ru-  fejfinC 

'■Cudf 


'7X*>Ct*qia4. 

frjdas 

pc*u-  £/to**c  id  &?<ZCJ£ 

f.  \ 


7*  iV 


thcuK^a-r-  d^ura^e  0cjy*c4  fit  autrcj.  *  *W  date  ^ 

ctar  ^runccxs  Zjyr/CA&ittics  </a?tfd  6zr&  Cj^  tyrre&r 


JONATHAN  CARVER. 

Jonathan  Carver  in  1766  was  the  next  to  contribute  to  the  geography 
and  natural  history  of  Minnesota.  By  this  time  the  route  for  canoes  along 
the  northwestern  boundary  had  become  well  known,  and  was  annually 
traversed  by  hundreds  of  coureurs  des  bois  and  by  thousands  of  Indians 
conveying  furs  to  the  lake  shore,  where  at  Fort  Charlotte,  now  Grand  Port- 
age,  they  weie  exchanged  for  supplies  Irom  Montreal,  or  were  despatched 
in  the  light  birch  canoes  to  the  distant  markets  of  Montreal  and  Quebec. 

This  route  had  been  mapped  by  Ochagach  in  1730  for  Yerendrye,  and  by 
Jeffrey  in  1762. 

Carver  ascended  the  Mississippi  from  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin 
to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony, ,  of  which  he  gives  the  fullest  description 
up  to  that  time,  and,  passing  above  the  falls,  reached  the  St.  Francis 
river.  Thence  he  descended,  and  made  his  way  up  the  Minnesota  river 
as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Waraju,  or  Cottonwood,  where  he  spent  seven 
months  the  winter  and  spring  of  1766-67.  Subsequently  descending  the 
Mississippi  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  he  passed  through  Wisconsin  to  lake 


20 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Catver,  1766 


Figure  2. 


Superior  and  Grand  Portage,  returning  to  Boston  by  way  of  the  north 
shore  of  lake  Superior,  Michillimackinac  and  Detroit. 

Carver’s  book*  states  that  he  intended  at  first  to  pass  by  way  of  the 
lake  of  the  Woods  and  lake  Winnipeg,  to  the  “  heads  of  the  river  of  the  West, 
which,  as  I  have  said  before,  falls  into  the  straits  of  Annian,  the  termina¬ 
tion  of  my  intended  progress,”  but  falling  short  of  supplies  for  presents  to 
the  Indians,  and  being  unable  to  obtain  them  of  the  traders  at  Grand 
Portage,  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  great  exploration. 


*Travels  through  the  interior  parts  of  North  America,  in  the  years  1766,  1767  and  1768.  By  J.  Carver,  Esq.,  Captain 
of  a  company  of  provincial  troops  during  the  late  war  with  France,  Dublin,  1779. 


1766,  Carver.] 


HISTOKICAL  SKETCH. 


21 


Passing  through  lake  Pepin,  he  gives  the  usual  description,  adding  the 
following  respecting  the  fauna  : 

CARVER  ON  LAKE  PEPIN  AND  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 

Great  numbers  of  fowl  also  frequent  this  lake  and  rivers  adjacent,  such  as  storks,  swans, 
geese,  brants  and  ducks ;  and  in  the  groves  are  found  plenty  of  turkeys  and  partridges.  On  the 
plains  are  the  largest  buffaloes  of  any  in  America.  Here  I  observed  the  ruins  of  a  French 
factory,  where  it  is  said  Captain  St.  Pierre  resided  and  carried  on  a  very  great  trade  with  the 
Naudowessies,  before  the  reduction  of  Canada. 

The  Mississippi,  as  far  as  the  entrance  of  the  river  St.  Croix,  thirty  miles  above  lake  Pepin,  is 
very  full  of  islands,  some  of  which  are  of  considerable  length.  On  these  also  grow  great 
numbers  of  the  maple  or  sugar  tree,  and  around  them  vines  loaded  with  grapes  creeping  to  their 
very  tops.  From  the  lake  upwards  few  mountains  are  to  be  seen,  and  those  but  small. 

CARVER  ON  CARVER’S  CAVE. 

About  thirty  miles  below  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  at  which  I  arrived  the  tenth  day  after 
I  left  lake  Pepin,  is  a  remarkable  cave  of  an  amazing  depth.  The  Indians  term  it  Wakon-teebe, 
that  is  the  Dwelling  of  the  Great  Spirit.  The  entrance  into  it  is  about  ten  feet  wide,  the  height 
of  it  five  feet.  The  arch  within  is  near  fifteen  feet  high  and  about  thirty  feet  broad.  The  bottom 
of  it  consists  of  fine,  clear  sand.  About  twenty  feet  from  the  entrance  begins  a  lake,  the  water 
of  which  is  transparent,  and  extends  to  an  unsearchable  distance ;  for  the  darkness  of  the  cave 
prevents  all  attempts  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  it.  I  threw  a  small  pebble  toward  the  interior 
parts  of  it  with  my  utmost  strength ;  I  could  hear  that  it  fell  into  the  water,  and  notwithstanding 
it  was  of  so  small  a  size,  it  caused  an  astonishing  and  horrible  noise  that  reverberated  through  all 
those  gloomy  regions.  I  found  in  this  cave  many  Indian  hieroglyphics,  which  appeared  very 
ancient,  for  time  had  nearly  covered  them  with  moss,  so  that  it  was  with  difficulty  I  could  trace 
them.  They  were  cut  in  a  rude  manner  upon  the  inside  of  the  walls,  which  were  composed  of  a 
stone  so  extremely  soft  that  it  might  be  easily  penetrated  with  a  knife ;  a  stone  everywhere  to  be 
found  near  the  Mississippi.  The  cave  is  only  accessible  by  ascending  a  narrow,  steep  passage  that 
lies  near  the  brink  of  the  river. 

At  a  little  distance  from  this  dreary  cavern  is  the  burying-place  of  several  bands  of  the 
Naudowessie  Indians.  Though  these  people  have  no  fixed  residence,  living  in  tents,  and  abiding 
but  a  few  months  on  one  spot,  yet  they  always  bring  the  bones  of  their  dead  to  this  place,  which 
they  take  the  opportunity  of  doing  when  the  chiefs  meet  to  hold  their  councils  and  to  settle  all 
public  affairs  for  the  ensuing  summer. 

Ten  miles  below  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  the  river  St.  Pierre,  called  by  the  natives 
Wadapaw  Menesotor,  falls  into  the  Mississippi  from  the  west.  It  is  not  mentioned  by  Father 
Hennepin,  although  a  large,  fair  river ;  this  omission,  I  conclude,  must  have  proceeded  from  a 
small  island  that  is  situated  exactly  at  its  entrance,  by  which  the  sight  of  it  is  intercepted. 
I  should  not  have  discovered  this  river  myself  had  I  not  taken  a  view,  when  I  was  searching  for 

it,  from  the  high  lands  opposite,  which  rise  to  a  great  height.  Nearly  over  against  this  river  I 
was  obliged  to  leave  my  canoe,  on  account  of  the  ice,  and  travel  by  land  to  the  falls  of 
St.  Anthony,  where  I  arrived  on  the  17th  of  November.  The  Mississippi,  from  the  St.  Pierre  to 
this  place,  is  rather  more  rapid  than  I  had  hitherto  found  it,  and  without  islands  of  any  consid¬ 
eration. 

CARVER  AT  THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

The  falls  of  St.  Anthony  received  their  name  from  Father  Louis  Hennepin,  a  French 
missionary,  who  traveled  into  those  parts  about  the  year  1680,  and  was  the  first  European  ever 
seen  by  the  natives.  This  amazing  body  of  waters,  which  are  about  250  yards  over,  form  a  most 
pleasing  cataract ;  they  fall  perpendicularly  about  thirty  feet,  and  the  rapids  below,  in  the  space 
of  300  yards  more,  rendered  the  descent  considerably  greater;  so  that  when  viewed  at  a 


22 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA 


[Carver,  1766. 


distance  they  appear  to  be  much  higher  than  they  really  are.  The  above-mentioned  traveler  has 
laid  them  down  at  about  sixty  feet ;  but  he  has  made  a  greater  error  in  calculating  the  height  of 
the  falls  of  Niagara,  which  he  asserts  to  be  600  feet,  whereas,  from  later  observations  accurately 
made,  it  is  well  known  that  it  does  not  exceed  140  feet.  But  the-  good  father,  I  fear,  too 
often  had  no  otlierfoundation  for  his  accounts  than  report,  or,  at  best,  a  slight  inspection. 


Fig.  3.  Carver’s  Sketch  or  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  1766. 


In  the  middle  of  the  falls  stands  a  small  island  about  forty  feet  broad  and  somewhat 
longer,  on  which  grow  a  few  cragged  hemlock  and  spruce  trees,  and  about  half  way  between  this 
island  and  the  eastern  shore  is  a  rock,  lying  at  the  very  edge  of  the  fall  in  an  oblique  position,  that 
appeared  to  be  about  five  or  six  feet  broad  and  thirty  or  forty  feet  long.  These  falls  vary  much 
from  all  the  others  I  have  seen,  as  you  may  approach  close  to  them  without  finding  the  least 
obstruction  from  any  intervening  hill  or  precipice. 

The  country  around  them  is  extremely  beautiful.  It  is  not  an  uninterrupted  plain  where 
the  eye  finds  no  relief,  but  composed  of  many  gentle  ascents  which,  in  the  summer,  are  covered 
with  the  finest  verdure,  and  interspersed  with  little  groves  that  give  a  pleasing  variety  to  the 
prospect.  On  the  whole,  when  the  falls  are  included,  which  may  be  seen  at  the  distance  of  four 
miles,  a  more  pleasing  and  picturesque  view  cannot,  I  believe,  be  found  throughout  the  universe. 
I  could  have  wished  that  I  had  happened  to  enjoy  this  glorious  sight  at  a  more  seasonable  time  of 
the  year,  whilst  the  trees  and  hillocks  were  clad  in  Nature’s  gayest  livery,  as  this  must  have  greatly 
added  to  the  pleasure  I  received ;  however,  even  then,  it  exceeded  my  warmest  expectations.  I 
have  endeavored  to  give  the  reader  as  just  an  idea  of  this  enchanting  spot  as  possible  in  the  plan 
annexed;  but  all  description,  whether  of  the  pencil  or  the  pen,  must  fall  infinitely  short  of  the 
original. 

At  a  little  distance  below  the  falls  stands  a  small  island,  of  about  an  acre  and  a  half,  on 
which  grow  a  great  number  of  oak  trees,  every  branch  of  -which,  able  to  support  the  weight,  was 
full  of  eagles’  nests.  The  reason  that  this  kind  of  birds  resort  in  such  numbers  to  this  spot  is  that 
they  are  here  secure  from  the  attacks  either  of  man  or  beast,  their  retreat  being  guarded  by  the 


1766  Carver.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


rapids,  which  the  Indians  never  attempt  to  pass.  Another  reason  is  that  they  find  a  constant 
supply  of  food  for  themselves  and  their  young,  from  the  animals  and  fish  which  are  dashed  to  pieces 
by  the  falls  and  driven  on  the  adjacent  shore. 

Having  satisfied  my  curiosity,  as  far  as  the  eye  of  man  can  be  satisfied,  I  proceeded  on,  still 
accompanied  by  my  young  friend,*  till  I  had  reached  the  river  St.  Francis,  near  sixty  miles  above 
the  falls.  To  this  river  Father  Hennepin  gave  the  name  of  St.  Francis,  and  this  was  the  extent  of  his 
travels,  as  well  as  mine,  toward  the  northwest.  As  the  season  was  so  far  advanced,  and  the  weather 
extremely  cold,  I  was  not  able  to  make  so  many  observations  on  these  parts  as  I  otherwise  should 
have  done. 

It  might  however,  perhaps,  be  necessary  to  observe  that  in  a  little  tour  I  made  about  the 
falls,  after  traveling  fourteen  miles  by  the  side  of  the  Mississippi,  I  came  to  a  river  nearly  twenty 
yards  wide  which  ran  from  the  northeast,  called  Rum  river.  And  on  the  20th  of  November  came 
to  another  termed  Goose  river,  and  about  twelve  yards  wide.  On  the  21st  I  arrived  at  the  St. 
Francis  which  is  about  thirty  yards  wide.  Here  the  Mississippi  itself  grows  narrow,  being  not 
more  than  ninety  yards  over ;  and  appears  to  be  chiefly  composed  of  small  branches.  The  ice 
prevented  me  from  noticing  the  depth  of  any  of  these  rivers. f 

The  country  in  some  places  is  hilly,  but  without  large  mountains,  and  the  land  is  tolerably 
good.  I  observed  here  many  deer  and  carraboes,  some  elk,  with  abundance  of  beavers,  otters  and 
other  furs.  A  little  above  this  to  the  northeast,  are  a  number  of  small  lakes,  called  the  Thousand 
lakes ;  the  parts  about  which,  though  but  little  frequented,  are  the  best  within  many  miles  for 
hunting,  as  the  hunter  never  fails  of  returning  loaded  beyond  his  expectations. 

CARVER  ASCENDS  THE  MINNESOTA. 

On  the  25th  I  returned  to  my  canoe  which  I  had  left  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Pierre ; 
and  here  I  parted  with  regret  from  my  young  friend  the  prince  of  the  Winnebagoes.  This  river 
being  clear  of  ice  by  reason  of  its  southern  situation,  I  found  nothing  to  obstruct  my  passage. 
On  the  28th,  being  advanced  about  forty  miles,  I  arrived  at  a  small  branch  that  fell  into  it  from 
the  north ;  to  which  as  it  had  no  name  that  I  could  distinguish  it  by,  I  gave  my  own,  and  the 
reader  will  find  it  in  the  plan  of  my  travels  denominated  Carver’s  river.  About  forty  miles  higher 
up  I  came  to  the  forks  of  the  Verd  and  Red  Marble  rivers,  which  join  at  some  little  distance  before 
they  enter  the  St.  Pierre. 

The  river  St.  Pierre,  at  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  is  about  a  hundred  yards  broad, 
and  continues  that  breadth  nearly  all  the  way  I  sailed  upon  it.  It  has  a  great  depth  of  water,  and 
and  in  some  places  runs  very  briskly.  About  fifty  miles  from  its  mouth  are  some  rapids,  and 
much  higher  up  there  are  many  others. 

I  proceeded  up  this  river  about  two  hundred  miles,  to  the  country  of  the  Nadowessies  of 
the  Plains,  which  lies  a  little  above  the  forks  formed  by  the  Verd  and  Red  Marble  rivers  [i.e.  The 
Blue  Earth  and  Watonwan  rivers.— N.  H.  W.]  just  mentioned,  where  a  branch  from  the  south 
nearly  joins  the  Messorie  river. J  By  the  accounts  I  received  from  the  Indians  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  the  river  St.  Pierre  and  the  Messorie,  though  they  enter  the  Mississippi  twelve  hundred 
miles  from  each  other,  take  their  rise  in  the  same  neighborhood,  and  this  within  the  space  of  a 
mile.  The  river  St.  Pierre’s  northern  branch  [£.  e.  The  main  river. — N.  H.  W.]  rises  from  a  num¬ 
ber  of  lakes  [Big  Stone  L. — N.  H.  W.]  near  the  Shining  Mountains,  and  it  is  from  some  of  these, 
also,  that  a  capital  branch  [Red  River  of  the  North.— N.  H.  W.]  of  the  river  Bourbon  [Nelson 
river  _N.  H.  W.]  which  runs  into  Hudson’s  bay,  has  its  sources.  *  *  *  I  have  learned  that 
the  four  most  capital  rivers  of  North  America,  viz.,  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Mississippi,  the  river 
Bouibon,  and  the  Oregon,  or  River  of  the  West,  have  their  sources  in  the  same  neighborhood. 
The  waters  of  the  three  former,  are  within  thirty  miles  of  each  other ;  the  latter,  however,  is 
rather  farther  west.g 

*A  young  “prince”  of  the  Winnebago  Indians  whom  he  had  encountered  a  few  miles  below  the  Minnesota  river. 
fThe  distance  to  Rum  river  is  approximately  correct.  The  Goose  river  is  now  the  Crow  river,  and  the  Elk,  which 
is  now  sometimes  styled  the  St.  Francis  river  (though  Hennepin  applied  the  name  to  the  outlet  of  L.  Buade)  is  the  only 
one  to  which  Carver  can  refer,  said  to  be  30  yards  wide. 

IThe  sources  of  the  Waraju  river  are  near  those  of  the  Rock  river,  the  latter  being  a  branch  of  the  Missouri.  Car¬ 
ver  wintered  at  the  mouth  of  the  Waraju  (or  Cottonwood)  river. 

gThis  idea  of  the  proximity  of  the  source  of  the  Oregon  to  those  of  the  other  rivers  mentioned  is  represented  on  the 
map  accompanying  Du  Pratz’  Histoire  de  la  Louisiane. 


24 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Carver;  1766. 


This  shows  that  these  parts  are  the  highest  lands  in  North  America ;  and  it  is  an  instance 
not  to  be  paralleled  on  the  other  three  quarters  of  the  globe,  that  four  rivers  of  such  magnitude 
should  take  their  rise  together,  and  each,  after  running  separate  courses,  discharge  their  waters 
into  dfferent  oceans  at  the  distance  of  two  thousand  miles  from  their  sources. 

CARVER’S  OPINION  OF  THE  MINNESOTA  VALLEY. 

The  river  St.  Pierre,  which  runs  through  the  territories  of  the  Naudowessies,  ilows  through 
a  most  delightful  country,  abounding  with  all  the  necessaries  of  life  that  grow  spontaneously,  and 
with  a  little  cultivation  it  might  be  made  to  produce  even  the  luxuries  of  life.  Wild  rice  grows  here 
in  great  abundance ;  and  every  part  is  filled  with  trees  bending  under  their  loads  of  fruit,  such  as 
plums,  grapes  and  apples ;  the  meadows  are  covered  with  hops,  and  many  sorts  of  vegetables ; 
whilst  the  ground  is  stored  with  useful  roots,  with  angelica,  spikenard,  and  ground-nuts  as  large  as 
hen’s  eggs.  At  a  little  distance  from  the  sides  of  the  river  are  eminences  from  which  you  have 
views  that  cannot  be  exceeded  even  by  the  most  beautiful  of  those  I  have  already  described ; 
amidst  these  are  delightful  groves,  and  such  amazing  quantities  of  maples  that  they  would  produce  . 
sugar  sufficient  for  any  number  of  inhabitants. 

THE  ST.  PETER  SANDSTONE. 

A  little  way  from  the  mouth  of  this  river,  on  the  north  side  of  it,  stands  a  hill,  one  part  of 
which,  that  toward  the  Mississippi,  is  composed  entirely  of  white  stone,  of  the  same  soft  nature  as 
that  I  have  before  described;  for  such  indeed  is  all  the  stone  in  this  country.  But  what  appears 
remarkable  is,  that  the  color  of  it  is  as  white  as  the  driven  snow,  The  outward  part  of  it  was 
crumbled  by  the  wind  and  weather  into  heaps  of  sand,  of  which  a  beautiful  composition  might  be 
made ;  or,  I  am  of  opinion,  that  when  properly  treated,  the  stone  itself  would  grow  harder  by  time, 
and  have  a  very  noble  effect  in  architecture, 

Near  that  branch  which  is  termed  the  Marble  river,  is  a  mountain,  from  which  the  Indians 
get  a  sort  of  red  stone,  out  of  which  they  hew  the  bowls  of  their  pipes.  [This,  doubtless,  is  a 
reference  to  the  c atlinite  of  Pipestone  county. — N.  II.  W.] 

Carver’s  work  contains  a  dissertation  on  the  origin,  manners,  customs, 
religion  and  language  of  the  Indians,  followed  by  a  chapter  on  the  leading 
species  of  animals,  particularly  the  game  animals,  and  on  the  trees,  shrubs, 
roots,  herbs  and  flowers  of  the  interior  parts  of  North  America,  but  as  he 
assigns  none  of  them  to  their  habitats,  they  cannot  be  claimed  as  indigenous 
to  Minnesota,  though  doubtless  most  of  them  are. 

Carver  gives  a  description  and  location  of  many  of  the  lakes  northwest 
from  Grand  Portage,  and  of  some  in  northern  Minnesota,  about  the  head¬ 
waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Red  river  of  the  North,  but  as  he  did  not 
visit  them,  and  his  account  is  based  wholly  on  descriptions  derived  from  the 
Indians  and  traders,  it  is  quite  incorrect  in  some  particulars.  He  states  that 
“the  most  remote  source”  of  the  Mississippi  river  is  a  lake  not  far  from  Red 
lake,  a  little  to  the  southwest,  called  White  Bear  lake,  of  about  the  same 
size  as  Red  lake.*  It  is  now  known  as  lake  Whipple. 

*The  map  accompanying  Carver’s  book  (London  edition)  shows  the  general  inaccuracy  of  Carver  not  only  in 
depicting  his  own  observations,  but  also  in  reproducing  those  of  earlier  writers.  “The  country  of  peace”  and  the  Red 
Marble  river,  are  so  named  doubtless  from  the  red  quartzyte  and  catlinite  (the  latter  used  for  making  the  peace 
calumet)  about  the  headwaters  of  the  Watonwan  and  Cottonwood  rivers,  and  should  be  represented  on  the  west  Fork  of 
the  Verd  river  instead  of  the  east.  The  mountains  of  “The  country  of  peace”  are  a  poetic  exaggeration,  like  Hiawatha's 
“  Mountains  of  the  Prairie.”  Compare  Keating’s  strictures  upon  Carver  in  Long’s  Expedition  in  1823,  Vol.  1,  p.  336. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  25 

1805,  Pike.] 

Captain  Carver  did  not  give  up  his  design  of  reaching  the  “straits  of 
Annian”  through  the  headwaters  of  the  great  streams  flowing  east  and 
west  from  Minnesota,  and  organized  a  party  to  carry  out  the  purpose  in 
which  he  had  failed,  on  his  return  to  England.  This  was  to  be  under  the 
auspices  of  Richard  Wentworth,  Esq.,  member  of  Parliament  for  Stafford, 
and  was  to  set  out  in  1774,  when  the  troubles  incident  to  the  Revolutionary 
war  put  a  stop  to  the  enterprise. 


II.  PERIOD  OF  TERRITORIAL  EXPLORATION,  17S3  TO  1858. 

The  war  of  the  Revolution  which  left  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
in  the  possession  of  the  United  States  and  the  west  bank  in  the  possession 
of  the  French,  operated  not  only  to  terminate  English  and  French  explora¬ 
tion,  but  to  retard  that  of  the  United  States.  It  was  not  till  after  the  cession 
of  Louisiana  by  France  that  the  United  States  government  instituted  meas¬ 
ures  for  the  exploration  of  the  unknown  country  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
when,  in  1805,  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke  were  dispatched  to  explore  the 
Missouri  river,  and  Lieutenant  Z.  M.  Pike  to  ascend  the  Mississippi  to  its 
source.  Lieut.  Pike  found  the  upper  Mississippi  country  occupied  by  trading 
posts  of  the  Northwest  Fur  Company,  over  which  was  still  flying  the  English 
flag,  a  fact  which  attests  the  isolation  of  that  region  since  the  peace  con¬ 
cluded  in  1783.  One  of  these  posts  was  found  at  Red  Cedar  lake,  (north  of 
Mille  Lacs)  one  at  Sandy  lake  and  two  at  Leech  lake,  whose  influence 
extended  “  from  the  head  of  lake  Superior  to  the  source  of  the  Mississippi 
and  down  Red  river.”  This  company  had  employed  Mr.  David  Thompson  as 
explorer  and  geographer  for  many  years,  and  Lieut.  Pike  refers  to  his  having 
established  the  latitude  of  Red  Cedar  lake  (now  Cass  L.)  supposed  to  be 
the  source  of  the  Mississippi,  in  1798,  finding  this  Post  to  be  in  latitude 
47°  38’.  Mr.  Thompson’s  maps  and  papers  never  having  been  published. 
Lieut.  Pike  is  to  be  accredited  with  the  first  authenticated  examination  of 
the  Mississippi  valley  from  the  St.  Francis  river  to  Red  Cedar  lake.* 

*  An  account  of  expeditions  to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and  through  the  western  parts  of  Louisiana.  *  * 

*  *  Performed  by  order  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  during  the  years  1805,  1806  and  1807,  by  Major  Z. 

M.  Pike.  Philadelphia,  1810. 


26 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Morrison,  1804. 


MORRISON  DISCOVERS  ITASCA  LAKE  IN  1804. 

The  country  of  the  upper  Mississippi  was  pretty  well  known  to  the 
coureurs  des  hois  of  the  various  fur  companies  probably,  before  the  advent  of 
Pike,  but  there  is  almost  nothing  preserved  of  all  their  explorations. 
Mr.  William  Morrison,  however,  has  given  in  a  brief  letter  to  the  Minnesota 
Historical  Society*  a  statement  of  his  own  discovery  of  Elk  lake  (now  called 
Itasca)  in  1804,  mentioning  also  Cross  lake,  ( Pemidji  lake),  Red  Cedar  lake 
and  Leech  lake'for  the  first  time.  He  also  states  that  he  wintered  at  Rice 
lake,  tributary  to  Rice  river,  a  branch  of  the  Red  river  of  the  North,  in 
1803-4.  In  order  to  reach  it  he  made  a  portage  from  the  Mississippi,  a  short 
distance  below  Elk  lake,  westward,  known  as  the  Portage  of  the  Height  of 
Land,  or  the  dividing  ridge  that  separates  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  from 
those  that  empty  into  the  Red  river  of  the  North. 

LIEUT.  Z.  M.  PIKE. 

Reaching  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  Lieut.  Pike  made  a  careful  survey,  and 
wrote  a  description  of  the  portage  route  in  his  journal,  and  a  brief  description 
of  the  falls  in  a  letter  to  General  Wilkinson  at  St.  Louis.  He  added  nothing 
of  value  to  the  natural  history  and  geography  of  the  Mississippi  valley 
below  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony.  With  twenty  soldiers  he  attempted  to  reach 
Leech  lake,  but  by  stress  of  weather  and  early  snow  was  compelled  to  erect  a 
winter  stockade  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  a  short  distance  below  Pike 
rapids.  Here  having  deposited  the  most  of  his  baggage  and  supplies,  he 
pushed  forward  in  midwinter,  with  indefatigable  energy  and  industry,  with 
a  foot-party,  as  far  as  Sandy  lake.  Thence  he  proceeded  toward  Leech  lake 
(then  denominated  lake  La  Sang  Sue)  by  way  of  the  Willow  river  valley  and 
Pokegama  lake,  where  he  arrived  February  1st,  1806.  A  few  days  later, 
having  visited  the  N.  W.  Co.’s  station  at  Red  Cedar  lake  and  ascertained  its 
latitude  (47°  42'  40”),  where  he  found  a  hospitable  Canadian  named  Roy, 
he  set  out  on  his  return  to  his  stockade,  by  a  different  route,  traveling  south- 
eastwardly  by  way  of  lakes  to  Whitefish  lake,  which  he  states  may  be 
considered  the  main  source  of  Pine  river,  reaching  the  Mississippi  at  the 
mouth  of  a  creek  about  nine  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Pine  river.  Making 


♦Minnesota  Historical  Collections,  Volume  I.  p.  417. 


1806,  Pike.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


27 


a  short  visit  to  Mr.  Grant’s  trading-post  on  “Red  Cedar  lake”*  he  left  on 
the  28th  of  February  on  his  descent  to  his  stockade,  where  he  stayed  till 
the  ice  broke  up  in  the  spring,  when  he  returned  to  St.  Louis. 

LIEUTENANT  PIKE  ON  THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

In  order  to  complete  the  history  of  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  from  the 
time  of  their  discovery  to  the  final  occupancy  of  the  place  by  permanent 
settlements,  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  their  rate  of  recession  by  means  of 
the  islands  which  have  undergone  changes  from  time  to  time,  as  noted  by 
different  visitors,  Lieut.  Pike’s  description  is  herewith  given,  as  one  of  the 
most  exact  and  reliable. 

In  the  appendix  to  his  journal  is  found  a  letter  addressed  to  Gen.  Wil¬ 
kinson,  dated  “26th  Sept,  above  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony”  containing  the 
following: 

The  place  where  the  river  falls  over  the  rocks  appears  to  be  about  fifteen  feet  perpen¬ 
dicular,  the  sheet  being  broken  by  one  large  island  on  the  east  and  a  small  one  on  the  west,  the 
former  commencing  below  the  shoot,  and  extending  500  yards  above ;  the  river  then  falls  through 
a  continued  bed  of  rocks,  with  a  descent  of  at  least  50  feet  perpendicular  in  the  course  of  half  a 
mile — from  thence  to  the  St.  Peters,  a  distance  of  eleven  miles  by  water,  there  is  almost  one  con¬ 
tinued  rapid,  aggravated  by  the  interruption  of  twelve  small  islands.  The  carrying  place  has  two 
hills,  one  of  25  feet,  the  other  of  12,  with  an  elevation  of  45°,  and  is  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
in  length.  Above  the  shoot  the  river  is  of  a  considerable  width,  but  below  (at  this  time)  1  can 
easily  cast  a  stone  over  it.  The  rapids,  or  suck,  comes  about  a  half  a  mile  above  the  shoot,  when 
the  water  becomes  calm  and  deep.  He  adds  that  this  is  merely  a  coup  d’  ceuil. 

On  page  51,  of  the  same  appendix,  he  gives  further  particulars  concern¬ 
ing  the  falls,  viz : 

As  I  ascended  the  Mississippi  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  did  not  strike  me  with  that  majestic 
appearance  which  I  had  been  taught  to  expect  from  the  description  of  former  travelers.  On  an 
actual  survey  I  find  the  portage  to  be  260  poles ;  but  when  the  river  is  not  very  low,  boats  ascend¬ 
ing  may  be  put  in  31  poles  below,  at  a  large  cedar  tree,  which  would  reduce  it  to  229  poles.  The 
hill  over  which  the  portage  is  made  is  69  feet  ascent,  with  an  elevation  at  the  point  of  debarkation 
of  45°.  The  fall  of  the  water  between  the  place  of  debarkation  and  reloading  is  58  feet ;  the 
perpendicular  fall  of  the  shoot  is  16£  feet.  The  width  of  the  river  above  the  shoot  is  627  yards ; 
below  209.  Eor  the  form  of  the  shoot  see  a  rough  draught  herewith.  In  high  water  the  appear¬ 
ance  is  much  more  sublime,  as  the  great  quantity  of  water  then  forms  a  spray  which  in  clear 
weather  reflects  from  some  positions  the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  and  when  the  sky  is  o’ercast, 
cover  the  falls  in  gloom  and  chaotic  majesty. 

LIEUT.  PIKE  ABOVE  THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

From  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  to  Rum  river,  the  Mississippi  is  almost  one  continued  chain 
of  rapids,  with  the  eddies  formed  by  winding  channels.  Both  sides  are  prairie,  and  scarcely  any 
timber  but  small  groves  of  scrub  oak.  Bum  river  is  about  50  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  takes 
its  source  in  Le  Mille  Lac,  which  is  about  thirty-five  miles  south  of  Lower  Bed  Cedar  lake. 
The  small  Indian  canoes  ascend  this  river  quite  to  the  lake,  which  is  considered  as  one  of  the  best 


♦This Red  Cedar  lake  in  other  places  is  styled  Lower  Red  Cedar  lake,  and  is  a  few  miles  southwest  of  Aitkin. 


28 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Pike,  1806. 


fur-hunting  grounds  for  some  hundreds  of  miles,  and  has  been  long  a  scene  of  rencounters 
between  the  hunting  parties  of  the  Sioux  and  Sauteaux.  The  last  winter  a  number  of  the  Fols 
Avoins  and  Sioux,  and  some  Sauteaux,  wintered  in  that  quarter.  From  Bum  river  to  Leaf  river, 
(called  by  Father  Hennepin  and  Carver  the  river  St.  Francis ,  and  was  the  extent  of  their  travels) 
the  prairies  continue  with  a  few  interruptions.  The  timber,  scrub  oak,  with  now  and  then  a 
lonely  pine.  Previous  to  your  arrival  at  Leaf  river  you  pass  Crow  river  on  the  west,  about  30 
yards  vide,  which  bears  from  the  Mississippi  S.  W.  Leaf  river  is  only  a  small  stream  of  not 
more  than  15  yards  over  and  bears  N.  by  W. 

The  elk  begin  to  be  very  plentiful ;  some  buffalo,  quantities  of  deer,  raccoons,  and  on  the 
prairie  a  few  of  the  animals  called  by  the  French  brelaws. 

From  thence  to  Sac  river  [Sauk  river]  a  little  above  the  Grand  rapids,  both  sides  of  the 
river  are  generally  prairie,  with  skirts  of  scrub  oak.  The  navigation  still  obstructed  with  ripples, 
but  with  some  intermissions  of  a  few  miles. 

At  the  Grand  rapids  the  river  expands  itself  to  about  3-4  mile  in  width  (its  general  width 
being  not  over  3-5  mile)  and  tumbles  over  an  miequal  bed  of  rocks  for  about  two  miles,  through 
which  there  cannot  be  said  to  be  any  channel ;  for  notwithstanding  the  rapidity  of  the  current,  one 
of  my  invalids  who  was  on  the  W.  shore  waded  to  the  E.  (where  we  were  encamped.)  The  east 
bank  of  the  rapids  is  a  very  high  prairie,  the  west  scrubby  woodland.  The  Sac  river  is  a  consid¬ 
erable  stream  which  comes  in  on  the  west,  and  bears  S.  W.,  and  is  200  yards  wide  at  its  mouth. 

The  quantity  of  game  still  increasing  from  the  Sac  river  to  Pine  creek,  (the  place  where 
I  built  my  stockade  and  left  part  of  my  party)  the  borders  are  prairie,  with  groves  of  pine  on  the 
edge  of  the  bank ;  but  there  are  some  exceptions,  where  you  meet  with  small  bottoms  of  oak, 
ash,  maple  and  lynn.  In  this  distance  there  is  an  intermission  of  rapids  for  about  40  miles  when 
they  commence  again  and  are  full  as  difficult  as  ever.  There  are  three  small  creeks  emptying  in 
on  the  west  scarcely  worthy  of  notice,  and  on  the  east  are  two  small  rivers,  called  Lake  and  Clear 
rivers.*  The  former  quite  a  small  one  bears  N.  W.  and  is  about  15  yards  wide  at  its  mouth ;  and 
about  three  miles  from  its  entrance  is  a  beautiful  small  lake,  around  which  resort  immense  herds 
of  elk  and  buffalo.  Clear  river  is  a  beautiful  little  stream  of  about  80  yards  in  width,  and  heads 
in  some  swamps  and  small  lakes  on  which  the  Sauteaux  of  Lower  Bed  Cedar  lake,  and  Sandy  lake, 
frquently  came  to  hunt.  The  soil  of  the  prairies  from  above  the  falls  is  sandy,  but  would  raise 
small  grain  in  abundance;  the  bottoms  rich  and  fit  for  corn  or  hemp.  Pine  creekf-  is  a  small 
stream  which  comes  in  on  the  west  shore  and  bears  nearly  west.  It  is  bounded  by  large  groves  of 
white  and  red  pine.  From  Pine  creek  to  the  Isle  De  Corbeau,  (or  river  of  that  name)  two  small 
rivers  come  in  on  the  west  shore.  The  first  is  of  little  consequence ;  but  the  second,  called  Elk 
river  is  entitled  to  more  consideration  from  its  communication  with  the  river  St.  Peters.  They 
first  ascend  it  to  a  small  lake,  cross  it,  then  ascend  a  small  stream,  [Long  Prairie  river]  to  a 
large  lake,  [Carlos  lake]  from  which  they  make  a  portage  of  four  miles  west  and  fall  into  the 
Sauteaux  river,  [Little  Chippewa]  which  they  descend  into  the  river  St.  Peters.  On  the  east  side 
is  one  small  stream,  ( JSunkesebe  river )  which  heads  toward  Lower  Bed  Cedar  lake ,  and  is  bounded 
by  hills.  The  whole  of  this  distance  is  remarkably  difficult  to  navigate,  being  one  continued 
succession  of  rapid  shoals  and  falls;  but  there  is  one  deserves  to  be  more  particularly  noticed, 
viz :  the  place  called  by  the  French  Le  shute  de  la  Roche  Peinture ,  which  is  certainly  the  third 
obstacle  in  point  of  navigation  which  I  met  with  in  my  whole  route.  The  shore  where  there  is 
not  prairie  is  a  continued  succession  of  pine  ridges.  The  entrance  of  the  river  De  Corbeau  is  partly 
hid  by  the  island  of  that  name,  and  discharges  its  waters  into  the  Mississippi  above  and  below  it ; 
the  lowest  channel  bearing  from  the  Mississippi  N.  65°  W.  This  (in  my  opinion)  should  be  termed 
the  forks  of  the  Mississippi,  it  being  nearly  of  equal  magnitude  and  heading  not  far  from  the  same 
source ;  although  taking  a  much  more  direct  course  to  their  junction.  It  may  be  observed  on  the 
chart,  that  from  St.  Louis  to  this  place,  the  course  of  the  river  had  been  generally  N.  to  the  W. 
and  that  from  here  it  bore  N.  E.  This  river  affords  the  best  and  most  approved  communication  with 
the  Bed  river,  and  the  navigation  is  as  follows.  You  ascend  the  river  De  Corbeau  180];  miles  to  the 
entrance  of  the  river  Des  Feuilles ,  which  comes  from  the  N.  W.  This  you  ascend  180  miles  also. 


♦Lake  river  is  now  called  Little  Rock  creek,  and  Clear  river  is  the  Platte. 
+Now  called  Swan  river. 

JPike’s  distances  are  generally  too  great. 


1806,  Pike.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


29 


then  make  a  portage  of  half  a  mile  into  Otter  Tail  lake  which  is  a  principal  source  of  Bed  river. 
The  other  branch  of  the  river  Be  Corbeau  [Long  Prairie  It.]  bears  S.  W.  and  approximates  with 
the  St.  Peters.  The  whole  of  this  river  is  rapid,  and  by  no  means  affording  so  much  water  as  the 
Mississippi.  Their  confluence  is  in  lat.  45°  49'  50"  N .  In  this  division  the  elk,  deer  and  buffalo  were 
probably  in  greater  quantities  than  in  any  other  part  of  my  whole  voyage.  From  thence  to  Pine 
river  the  Mississippi  continues  to  become  narrower  and  has  but  few  islands.  In  this  distance  I 
discovered  but  one  rapid  which  the  force  of  the  frost  had  not  entirely  covered  with  ice.  The 
shores  in  general  presented  a  dreary  prospect  of  high  barren  knobs  covered  with  dead  and  fallen 
pine  timber.  To  this  there  were  some  exceptions  of  ridges  of  yellow  and  pitch  pine,  also  some 
small  bottoms  of  lynn,  elm,  oak  and  ash.  The  adjacent  country  is  (at  least  two-thirds)  covered 
with  small  lakes,  some  of  which  are  three  miles  in  circumference.  This  renders  the  communica¬ 
tion  impassable  in  summer,  except  with  small  bark  canoes.  *  *  *  The  Fine  river  bears  from 
the  Mississippi  north  30°  east,  although  it  empties  in  on  that  which  has  hitherto  been  termed  the 
west  shore.  It  is  80  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  has  an  island  immediately  at  the  entrance.  It 
communicates  with  the  lake  La  Sang  Sue  by  the  following  course  of  navigation:  In  one  day’s  sail 
from  the  confluence  you  arrive  at  the  first  part  of  Whitefish  lake,  which  is  about  six  miles  long  and 
two  wide.  From  thence  you  pursue  the  river  about  two  miles,  and  come  to  the  Second  Whitefish 
lake,  which  is  about  three  miles  long  and  one  wide ;  then  you  have  the  river  three  miles  to  the 
third  lake,  which  is  seven  miles  long  and  two  in  width  (which  I  crossed  on  my  return  from  the 

head  of  the  Mississippi,  on  the - of  February,  and  is  in  46°  32’  32’’  N.  latitude).  From  thence 

you  follow  the  river  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  fourth  lake,  which  is  a  circular  one  of  about  five 
miles  in  circumference.  From  thence  you  pursue  the  river  one  day’s  sail  to  a  small  lake ;  from 
thence  two  days’  sail  to  a  portage,  which  conveys  you  to  another  lake ;  from  whence,  by  small 
portages  from  lake  to  lake,  you  make  the  voyage  to  Leech  lake.  The  whole  of  this  course  lays 
through  ridges  of  pines  or  swamps  of  pinenet,  sap  pine,*  hemlock,  Ac.,  Ac.  From  the  river  J'e 
Corbeau  to  this  place  the  deer  are  very  plenty,  but  wre  found  no  more  buffalo  or  elk.  From  this 
spot  to  Bed  Cedar  lake  the  pine  ridges  are  interrupted  by  large  bottoms  of  elm,  ash,  oak  and 
maple,  the  soil  of  which  wrould  be  very  proper  for  cultivation.  From  the  appearance  of  the  ice 
(which  was  firm  and  equal)  I  conceive  that  there  can  be  but  one  ripple  in  this  distance.  Bed  Cedar 
lake  lays  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  at  the  distance  of  6  miles  from  it,  and  very  near  equally 
distant  from  the  river  Be  Corbeau  and  lake  Be  Sable.  Its  form  is  an  oblong  square,  and  may  be 
ten  miles  in  circumference.  From  this  to  lake  Be  Sable ,  on  the  E.  shore,  you  meet  with  Muddy 
river, t  which  discharges  itself  into  the  Mississippi  by  a  mouth  twenty  yards  wide,  and  bears  nearly 
N.  E.  We  then  meet  with  Pike  river]:  on  the  west,  about  77  [17?]  miles  below  Sandy  lake,  and  bears 
nearly  due  north,  up  which  you  ascend  with  canoes  four  days’  sail  and  arrive  at  a  wild-rice 
lake,  which  you  pass  through  and  enter  a  small  stream,  and  ascend  it  two  leagues ;  then  cross  a 
portage  of  two  acres  into  a  lake  seven  leagues  in  circumference ;  then  two  leagues  of  a  river  into 
another  small  lake.  From  thence  you  descend  the  current  Y.  E.  [1ST.  W?]  into  Leech  lake.  The 
banks  of  the  Mississippi  are  still  bordered  by  the  pines  of  the  different  species,  except  a  few  small 
bottoms  of  elm,  lynn  and  maple.  The  game  scarce,  and  the  aborigines  subsist  almost  entirely 
on  the  beaver,  with  a  few  moose  and  the  wild  rice  or  oats. 

Sandy  lake  river  (or  the  discharge  of  said  lake)  is  large,  but  is  only  six  miles  in  length  from 
the  lake  to  its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi.  Lake  Be  Sable'i  is  about  25  miles  in  circum¬ 
ference,  and  has  a  number  of  small  rivers  running  into  it ;  one  of  those  is  entitled  to  particular 
mention,  viz.,  the  river  Savanna ,  which  by  portage  of  three  miles  and  three-quarters,  communicates 
with  the  r  iver  St.  Louis ,  which  empties  into  lake  Superior  at  the  Fond  du  Lac ,  and  is  the  channel 
by  which  the  K.  W.  Company  bring  all  their  goods  for  the  trade  of  the  upper  Mississippi.  Game 
is  very  scarce  in  this  country.  In  ascending  the  Mississippi  from  Sandy  lake,  you  first  meet  with 
Swan  river  on  the  east,  which  bears  nearly  due  E.  and  is  navigable  for  bark  canoes  ninety  miles  to 
Swan  lake.  You  then  meet  with  the  Meadow  river, ||  which  falls  in  on  the  east,  and  bears  nearly 
E.  by  N.,  and  is  navigable  for  canoes  100  miles.  You  then  in  ascending  meet  with  a  very  strong 
ripple,  and  an  expansion  of  the  river,  where  it  forms  a  lake.  This  is  three  miles  below  the  falls 
of  Packegamau,  and  from  which  the  noise  of  the  shoot  might  be  heard.  The  course  of  the  river 
at  the  falls  was  JL  70°  W.,  and  just  below,  the  river  is  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  but  above  the 


*Tamarac  and  balsam  fir;  but  hemlock  does  not  occur.  fRice  River.  +  Willow  river.  §Sandy  lake.  jpPrairie  river . 


80 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Long,  1S17. 


shoot  not  more  than  20  yards.  The  water  thus  collected,  runs  down  a  flat  rock  which  has  an 
elevation  of  about  30  degrees.  Immediately  above  the  fall  is  a  small  island  of  about  50  yards  in 
circumference,  covered  with  sap-pine.*  The  portage,  which  is  on  the  E.  (or  N.)  side  is  no  more 
than  200  yards,  and  by  no  means  difficult.  Those  falls,  in  point  of  consideration  as  an  impedi¬ 
ment  to  navigation,  stand  next  to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  fi'om  the  source  of  the  river  to  the 
gulf  of  Mexico.  The  banks  of  the  river,  to  the  Meadow  river,  have  generally  either  been 
timbered  by  pine,  pinenett,  hemlock,  sap-pine,  or  the  aspen  tree.  From  thence  it  winds  through 
high-grass  meadows  (or  savannas),  with  the  pine  swamps  at  a  distance  appearing  to  cast  a  deeper 
gloom  on  the  borders.  From  the  falls  in  ascending  you  pass  the  lake  Packegamau  on  the  west, 
celebrated  for  its  great  production  of  wild  rice  ;  and  next  meet  with  the  Deer  river  on  the  east,  the 
extent  of  its  navigation  unknown.  You  next  meet  Riviere  Le  Cross ,  on  the  east  side,  which  bears 
nearly  north,  and  has  only  a  portage  of  one  mile  to  pass  from  it  into  the  lake  Winipequef  branch  of 
the  Mississippi.  We  next  come  to  what  the  people  of  that  quarter  call  the  Forks  of  the  Mississippi , 
the  right  fork  of  which  bears  N.  W.  and  runs  eight  leagues  to  lake  Winnipeque,  which  is  of  an  oval 
form  of  about  36  miles  in  circumference.  From  lake  Winnipeque  the  river  continues  5  leagues  to 
Upper  Red  Cedar  lakej,  which  may  be  termed  the  upper  source  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Leech 
lake  branch  bears  (from  the  forks)  S.  W.  and  runs  through  a  chain  of  Meadows.  You  pass  Muddy 
lake,  which  is  scarcely  anything  more  than  an  extensive  marsh  of  15  miles  in  circumference;  the 
river  bears  through  it  nearly  N.,  after  which  it  turns  again  W.  In  many  places  this  branch 
is  not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  yards  wide,  although  15  or  20  feet  deep.  From  this  to  Leech  lake 
the  communication  is  direct,  and  without  any  impediment.  This  is  rather  considered  as  the  main 
source,  although  the  Winnipeque  branch  is  navigable  the  greatest  distance.  To  this  place  the 
whole  face  of  the  country  has  the  appearance  of  an  impenetrable  morass,  or  boundless  savanna. 
But  on  the  borders  of  the  lake  is  some  oak,  and  large  groves  of  sugar  maple,  from  which  the 
traders  make  sufficient  sugar  for  their  consumption  the  whole  year.  Leech  lake  communicates 
with  the  river  De  Corheau  by  seven  portages,  and  the  river  Des  Feuilles  also,  with  the  Red  river  by 
the  Otter  Tail  lake  on  the  one  side,  and  by  the  Red  Cedar  lake  and  other  small  lakes  to  Red  lake 
on  the  other.  Out  of  these  small  lakes  and  ridges  rise  the  upper  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence , 
Mississippi ,  and  Red  river, \  the  latter  of  which  discharges  itself  into  the  ocean  by  lake  Winipie 
and  Hudson's  Bay.  All  those  waters  have  their  upper  sources  within  100  miles  of  each  other, 
which  I  think  plainly  proves  this  to  be  the  most  elevated  part  of  the  N.  E.  continent  of  America. 
But  we  must  cross  (wrhat  is  commonly  termed)  the  Rocky  Mountains ,  or  a  spur  of  the  Cordeliers , 
previous  to  our  finding  the  waters  whose  currents  run  westward  and  pay  tribute  to  the  western 
ocean. 

In  this  quarter  we  find  moose,  a  very  few  deer  and  bear,  but  a  vast  variety  of  fur  animals 
of  all  descriptions. 


MAJOR  S.  H.  LONG  AT  THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 


In  1817  Major  Stephen  H.  Long,  of  the  United  States  Army,  made  a 
visit  to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  ||  and  has  made  so  correct  a  description  of 
them  that,  by  comparison  with  that  of  Pike,  in  1805,  such  changes  are  seen 

1  / 

to  have  taken  place  that  some  idea  of  their  rate  of  recession  can  be  gained. 

The  perpendicular  fall  of  the  water  at  the  cataract,  as  stated  by  Pike  in  his  journal,  is 
16£  feet,  which  I  found  to  be  true  by  actual  measurement.  To  this  height,  however,  four  or 
five  feet  may  be  added  for  the  rapid  descent  which  immediately  succeeds  the  perpendicular  fall 
within  a  few  yards  below.  Immediately  at  the  cataract  the  river  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  an 
island  which  extends  considerably  above  and  below  the  cataract,  and  is  about  600  yards  long. 


*Balsam  Fir.  fWinnibigoshish.  [Cass  Lake. 

§Pike  has  this  footnote:  Red  river  discharges  itself  into  Hudson’s  Bay  by  lake  Winipie  and  Nelson’s  river. 

||  Minnesota  Historical  Collections,  Vol.  II. — Voyage  in  a  six-oared  skiff  to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  in  1817,  by 
Major  Stephen  H.  Long,  with  an  introductory  note  by  Edward  D.  Neill. 


1820,  Cass.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


31 


The  channel  on  the  right  side  of  the  island  is  about  three  times  the  width  of  that  on  the  left. 
The  quantity  of  water  passing  through  these  is  not,  however,  in  the  same  proportion,  as  about 
one-third  part  of  the  whole  passes  through  the  left  channel.  In  the  broadest  channel,  just  below 
the  cataract,  is  a  small  island  also,  about  fifty  yards  in  length,  and  thirty  in  breadth.  Both  of 
these  islands  contain  the  same  kind  of  rocky  formation  as  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  are  nearly 
as  high.  Besides  these,  there  are  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  cataract,  two  islands  of  very 
inconsiderable  size,  situated  in  the  right  channel  also.  The  rapids  commence  several  hundred 
yards  above  the  cataract,  and  continue  about  eight  miles  below.  The  fall  of  the  water,  beginning 
at  the  head  of  the  rapids,  and  extending  two  hundred  and  sixty  rods  down  the  river  to  where  the 
portage  road  commences,  below  the  cataract,  is,  according  to  Pike,  fifty-eight  feet.  If  this  esti¬ 
mate  be  correct  the  whole  fall  from  the  head  to  the  foot  of  the  rapids  is  not  probably  much  less 
than  one  hundred  feet.  But  as  I  had  no  instrument  sufficiently  accurate  to  level,  where  the  view 
must  necessarily  be  pretty  extensive,  I  took  no  pains  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  the  fall.  The 
mode  I  adopted  to  ascertain  the  height  of  the  cataract  was  to  suspend  a  line  and  plummet  from 
the  table  rock  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  which  at  the  same  time  had  very  little  water  passing 
over  it,  as  the  river  was  unusually  low.  The  rocky  formations  at  this  place  were  arranged  in  the 
following  order  from  the  surface  downward :  A  coarse  kind  of  limestone  in  thin  strata  contain¬ 
ing  considerable  silex ;  a  kind  of  soft  friable  stone  of  a  greenish  color  and  slaty  fracture,  probably 
containing  lime,  alumina  and  silex ;  a  very  beautiful  stratification  of  shell  limestone,  in  thin  plates, 
extremely  regular  in  its  formation  and  containing  a  vast  number  of  shells,  all  apparently  of  the 
same  kind.  This  formation  constitutes  the  table  rock  of  the  cataract.  The  next  in  order  is  a 
white  or  yellowish  sandstone  so  easily  crumbled  that  it  deserves  the  name  of  sand-bank  rather 
than  that  of  a  rock.  It  is  of  various  depths,  from  ten  to  fifty  or  seventy-five  feet,  and  is  of  the 
same  character  with  that  found  at  the  caves  before  mentioned.  The  next  in  order  is  a  soft,  friable 
sandstone,  of  a  greenish  color,  similar  to  that  resting  upon  the  shell  limestone.*  These  stratifica¬ 
tions  occupy  the  whole  space  from  the  low-water  mark  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  bluffs.  On  the 
east,  or  rather  north  side  of  the  river,  at  the  falls  are  high  grounds  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile 
from  the  river,  considerably  more  elevated  than  the  bluffs,  and  of  a  hilly  aspect. 


GOVERNOR  LEWIS  CASS’  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI. 

In  1820  Gov.  Lewis  Cass,  of  Detroit,  conducted  an  exploring  expedition 
from  Detroit  to  the  upper  Mississippi  region,  coasting  the  shores  of  lakes 
Huron  and  Superior  in  canoes.  From  the  head  of  lake  Superior  he  fol¬ 
lowed  the  route,  then  much  traveled,  for  canoes,  by  portaging,  to  Sandy 
lake  and  the  upper  Red  Cedar  lake,  the  latter  of  which  was  denominated 
Cass  lake,  by  Mr.  H.  R.  Schoolcraft,  the  chief  narrator  of  the  expedition.f 
This  lake  was  considered  by  him,  as  by  Lieut.  Pike,  the  chief  head  of 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  passing  the  falls  of  Pokegama,  Mr.  Schoolcraft  made  the  observation, 
that  “  the  Mississippi  at  this  point  forces  its  way  through  a  quartzy  rock, 
during  which  it  sinks  its  level,  as  estimated,  twenty  feet,  in  a  distance  of 
about  three  hundred  yards.  There  is  no  perceptible  cascade,  or  abrupt  fall, 

♦Major  Long  here  seems  to  have  made  an  error  similar  to  that  of  Keating  at  Fort  Snelling,  taking  fallen  fragments 
to  be  in  situ. 

fSummary  narrative  of  an  exploratory  expedition  to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  in  1820,  resumed  and  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  discovery  of  its  origin  in  Itasca  lake  in  1832,  with  appendixes.  By  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft. 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Schoolcraft,  1820. 


but  the  river  rushes  with  the  utmost  velocity  down  a  highly  inclined  rocky 
bed  toward  the  northeast.”  *  *  *  *  *  “  Immediately 

above  the  fall  is  a  small  rocky  island  bearing  a  growth  of  spruce  and 
cedars.” 

Schoolcraft  states  that  the  Mississippi,  instead  of  having  its  source  in 
Cass  lake,  or  even  in  Turtle  lake,  enters  Cass  lake  from  the  south  at  a  dis¬ 
tance  ot  eight  or  ten  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Turtle  river.* 

Mr.  Schoolcraft’s  geological  and  mineralogical  resume  of  the  expedition 
is  quite  full,  but  embraces  much  territory  beyond  the  limits  of  Minnesota. 
He  is  the  first  to  give  a  geological  account  of  the  lower  valley  of  the  St. 
Louis  river,  but  his  statements  about  its  tributaries  being  from  “  the  north¬ 
west  of  the  Rainy  lakes,”  and  Vermilion  lake  tributary  to  its  volume,  while 
in  keeping  with  a  general  looseness  in  his  statements,  show  still  a  lack  of 
geographical  knowledge  of  that  region.  He  estimates  its  descent  from  Knife 
falls,  through  the  “  Cabotian  Mountains,”  at  about  418  feet.  He  says  that 
the  red  sandstone  at  Fond  du  Lac  is  succeeded,  up  the  river  further,  by 
“  trap,  argillite  and  grauwacke.”  *  *  *  “  The  river  is  continually  in  a 

foam  for  nine  miles,  and  the  wonder  is  that  such  a  furious  and  heavy  volume 
of  water  should  not  have  prostrated  everything  before  it.  The  sandstone, 
grauwacke, "and  the  argillite,  the  latter  of  which  stands  on  its  edges,  have 
opposed  but  a  feeble  barrier  ;  but  the  trap  species,  resisting  with  the  firm¬ 
ness,  as  it  has  the  color,  of  cast  -  iron,  stand  in  masses  which  threaten  the 
life  and  safety  of  everything  that  may  be  hurled  against  them.  I  found  a 
loose  specimen  of  sulphuret  of  lead,  and  some  common  quartz,  in  place  in 
the  slate  rock,  a  vein  of  chlorite  slate,  and  a  locality  of  coarse  graphite,  to 
reward  my  search. 


^Resulting  from  the  expedition  of  Gov,  Cass,  were  several  scientific  papers,  which  at  the  date  of  their  publication 
were  valuable  additions  to  the  natural  history  of  the  region,  viz: 

1.  Results  of  observations  for  latitude  and  longitude  during  the  expediton  of  1820.  By  Capt.  David  B.  Douglass. 

2.  Report  on  the  copper  mines  of  lake  Superior.  II.  It.  Schoolcraft. 

3.  Observations  on  the  Mineralogy  and  Geology  of  the  country  embracing  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  river  and 
the  Great  Lake  Basins.  By  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft 

■1.  Report  in  reply  to  a  resolution  of  the  U.  S.  Senate  on  the  value  and  extent  of  the  mineral  lands  on  lake  Supe¬ 
rior.  By  Henry  It.  Schoolcraft. 

5.  Rapid  glances  at  the  Geology  of  Western  New  York,  beyond  the  Rome  summit,  in  1820.  By  Henry  R.  School¬ 
craft. 

6.  A  memoir  on  the  Geological  position  of  a  fossil  tree  in  the  secondary  rocks  of  Illinois,  1822.  By  Henry  R. 
Schoolcraft. 

7.  List  of  plants  collected  by  Capt.  D.  B.  Douglass,  at  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  river.  From  the  4th  Volume 
of  Silliinan's  Journal  of  Science.  By  Dr.  John  Torrey. 

8.  A  letter  embracing  notices  of  the  Zoology  of  the  Northwest,  addressed  to  Dr.  Mitchell,  on  the  return  of  the 
expedition.  Bv  Henry  R  Schoolcraft. 

9.  Species  of  Bivalves  collected  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft  and  Capt.  Douglass  in  the  Northwest.  From  the  6th  Volume 
of  the  American  Journal  of  Science.  D.  II.  Barnes. 

10.  Fresh  water  shells  collected  by  Mr.  School  raft  in  the  valleys  of  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers.  From  the  5th 
Volume  of  the  American  Philosophical  Transactions.  By  Isaac  Lea. 

11.  Summary  remarks  respecting  the  Zoological  species  noticed  in  the  expedition.  By  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchell. 

12*.  Mus  busarius.  Medical  Repository,  Vol.  21.  By  Dr.  Samuel  L.  M.tcliell. 

13  Sciurus  tridecem-striatus.  Medical  Repository,  Volume  21.  By  Dr.  Samuel  L  Mitchell. 

14.  Proteus  of  the  lakes.  Am.  Jour.  Sci.,  Vol  4.  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchell. 

15.  Memoranda  on  Climatic  Phenomena  and  the  Distribution  of  Solar  Heat,  in  1820.  By  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft. 


1823  Keating.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


83 


SCHOOLCRAFT  AT  LITTLE  FALLS  AND  SAUK  RAPIDS. 


In  descending  the  Mississippi  below  the  Pakagama,  the  first  stratum  of  rock,  which 
rises  through  the  delta  of  the  river,  occurs  between  the  mouth  of  the  Nokasippi  and  Elm  rivers 
below  the  influx  of  the  Great  De  Corbeau.  This  rock,  which  is  greenstone  trap,  rises  conspic¬ 
uously  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  in  a  rocky  isle  seated  in  the  rapid  called — I  know  not  with  what 
propriety — the  Big  Falls  or  Grand  Chute.  The  precipitous  and  angular  falls  of  this  striking 
object  decide  that  the  bed  of  the  stream  is  at  this  point  on  the  igneous,  granitical  and  greenstone 
series.  This  formation  is  seen  at  a  few  points  above  the  water,  until  we  pass  some  bold  and 
striking  eminences  of  shining  and  highly  crystalline  liornblendic  sienite,  which  rises  in  the  eleva¬ 
tion  called  by  us  Peace  Rock,  on  the  left  bank  near  the  Osaukis  rapids.  This  rock  lies  directly 
opposite  to  the  principal  encampment  on  the  27th  of  July,  which  was  on  an  elevated  prairie  on  the 
west  bank.  To  this  point  a  delegation  of  Sioux  had  ascended  on  an  embassy  of  peace  from  Fort 
Snelling  to  the  Chippewas,  having  affixed  on  a  pole  what  the  exploring  party  called  a  bark  letter, 
the  ideas  being  represented  symbolically  by  a  species  of  picture  writing  or  hieroglyphics.  In  allu¬ 
sion  to  this  embassy,  this  locality  was  called  the  Peace  Pock.  This  rock  is  sienite.  It  is  highly 
crystalline,  and  extends  several  miles.  Its  position  must  be,  from  the  best  accounts,  in  north 
latitude  44°  30'.  From  this  point  to  Rum  river,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  no  other  point  of 
the  intrusion  of  this  formation  above  the  prairie  soil  was  observed. 

The  rock  at  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  Mr.  Schoolcraft  regards  as  belong¬ 
ing  “to  the  great  carboniferous  and  metalliferous  formations,  which  for  so 
great  a  length,  and  in  so  striking  a  manner  characterize  both  banks  of  the 
Mississippi  below  St.  Anthony  falls/’  The  white  sandstone  at  the  falls  is 
said  to  be  overlain  by  the  “metalliferous  limestone.”  The  grains  of  sand- 
rock  are  held  together  by  “the  cohesion  of  aggregation,”  and  embrace, 
sparingly,  “orbicular  masses  of  hornblende.”  The  overlying  limestone  is 
the  “same  in  character,  which  assumes  at  some  points  a  siliceous,  and  at 
others  a  magnesian  character.  It  is  manifestly  the  same  great  metalliferous 
rock  which  accompanies  the  lead  ore  of  Missouri  and  mines  of  Peosta  or 
Dubuque.”  Referring  to  Chimney  and  Castle  rocks,  in  Dakota  county,  Mr. 
Schoolcraft  thinks  they  are  the  result  of  degradation  and  wasting  away,  011 
the  Huttonian  theory,  of  all  but  these,  probably  harder,  portions  of  the  strata. 

keating’s  narrative  of  major  long’s  expedition  in  1823,  to  the  source 

OF  THE  ST.  PETER  RIVER. 

Major  S.  H.  Long,  who  had,  in  1817,  visited  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  was 
directed  by  the  United  States  Secretary  of  War,  in  1823,  to  conduct  a  party 
of  exploration  to  the  source  of  the  St.  Peter  river,  and  to  lake  Winnipeg. 
He  was  accompanied  by  a  number  of  scientific  gentlemen  of  Philadelphia, 
including  Prof.  William  Keating  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
embodied  the  notes  and  manuscripts  of  the  various  members  of  the  party, 


3 


34 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Keating,  1823- 


in  a  work  of  two  volumes,  published  in  1825,  in  London.  The  appendix 
embraces  a  general  list  of  animal  species  observed  by  Thomas  Say,  and  a 
list  of  plants  by  Lewis  D.  de  Schweinitz,  also  astronomical  and  meteorological 

•  •  V  ^ * 

data  by  J.  Edward  Colhoun  and  Dr.  Joseph  Lovell,  concluding  with  a  vocab¬ 
ulary  of  Indian  words  by  Mr.  Keating.* 

This  work  may  be  correctly  pronounced  the  first  attempt  to  apply  the 
accurate  methods  of  modern  science  to  the  exploration  of  any  portion  of 
Minnesota.  Although  the  progress  of  the  party  was  much  too  rapid  for 
geological  examinations,  yet  the  collections  made,  the  notes  on  geographical 
features  recorded,  and  the  few  geological  facts  stated,  constitute  a  good 
preliminary  account  of  the  western  portions  of  the  state.  The  party 
returned  to  lake  Superior  from  lake  Winnipeg,  by  way  of  a  route  through 
British  territory  to  the  lake  of  the  W oods  ;  thence  following  the  northern 
boundary  line  to  the  west  end  of  Hunter’s  island,  they  again  turned  north¬ 
ward,  and  reached  lake  Superior  at  Fort  William,  by  way  of  the  route  of 
Sir  Alexander  McKenzie.  The  map  accompanying  the  report  is  an  embodi¬ 
ment  of  information  from  several  sources,  besides  the  observations  of  the 
party,  chiefly  the  report  of  Lieut.  Pike  on  the  upper  Mississippi,  Buchett’s 
map  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  statements  by  officers  of  the  Hudson’s 
Bay  Company,  and  by  Dr.  J.  J.  Bigsby,  of  the  English  Commission  for  deter¬ 
mining  the  boundary  between  the  United  States  and  the  British  possessions. 
On  this  map  are  given  for  the  first  time  the  names  and  positions  of  numer¬ 
ous  streams  in  the  western  part  of  Minnesota,  and  in  eastern  Dakota,  and 
of  some  flowing  north  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state. 

KEATING’S  VISIT  TO  THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

On  the  6th  of  July  we  walkedf  to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  which  are  situated  nine  miles 
along  the  course  of  the  river,  seven  by  land)  above  the  fort.  The  first  glimpse  which  we  caught 
of  the  fall  was  productive  of  disappointment,  because  it  yielded  but  a  partial  view  ;  but  this  was 
amply  redeemed  by  the  prospect  whicli  we  obtained  of  it  when  the  whole  fall  opened  itself  before 
us.  We  then  discovered  that  nothing  could  be  more  picturesque  than  this  cascade.  We  had  been 
told  that  it  appeared  like  a  mere  mill-dam,  and  we  were  apprehensive  lest  a  fall  of  sixteen  feet  would 
lose  all  its  beauty  when  extended  upon  a  breadth  of  several  hundred  yards,  but  we  soon  observed 
that  this  was  by  no  means  the  case.  The  irregular  outline  of  the  fall,  by  dividing  its  breadth, 
gives  a  more  impressive  character.  An  island  stretching  in  the  river,  both  above  and  below  the 
fall,  separates  it  into  two  unequal  parts,  the  eastern  being  two  hundred  and  thirty  yards  wide,  and 
the  western  three  hundred  and  ten.  The  island  itself  is  about  one  hundred  yards  wide.  From 


^Narrative  of  an  Expedition  to  the  Source  of  the  St.  Peter’s  river,  lake  Winnepeek,  lake  of  the  Woods,  &c.,  per¬ 
formed  in  the  year  1823,  under  command  of  Stephen  H.  Long.  Compiled  by  Wm.  H.  Keating.  In  two  volumes. 
London,  1825. 

tFrom  FortSnelling. 


1823,  Keating.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


35 


the  nature  of  the  rock,  which  breaks  into  angular,  and  apparently  rhomboidal  fragments  of  a  huge 
size,  this  fall  is  subdivided  into  several  cascades,  which  adhere  to  each  other,  so  as  to  form  a  sheet 
of  water,  unrent,  but  composed  of  an  alternation  of  retiring  and  salient  angles,  and  presenting  a 
great  variety  of  shapes  and  shades ;  each  of  these  forms  in  itself  a  perfect  cascade;  but  when  fifteen 
together  in  one  comprehensive  view,  they  assume  a  beauty  of  which  we  could  have  scarcely  deemed 
them  susceptible.  We  have  seen  many  falls,  but  few  which  present  a  wilder  and  more  picturesque 
aspect  than  those  of  St.  Anthony.* 

Prof.  Keating  gives  the  following  section  of  the  blnff  at  Fort  Snelling, 
in  descending  order: 

1.  Limestone,  of  a  distinct  slaty  structure ;  compact,  but  with  a  splintery  uneven  fracture ; 
filled  with  organic  remains  ( Producti ) ;  of  a  light  grayish-yellow  color ;  8  ft. 

2.  Limestone,  of  a  blue  color,  destitute  of  fossils ;  an  excellent  stone  for  building,  and  good 
for  quicklime.  15 — 20  ft. 

3.  Sandstone,  constituting  the  principal  mass  of  the  bluff.  This  is  friable,  but  every  frag¬ 
ment,  examined  with  care,  seems  to  be  a  regular  crystal.  Keating  inclines  to  the  opinion  that  it 
must  have  been  from  a  chemical  precipitation,  and  not  from  mere  mechanical  deposition.  The  proc¬ 
ess  of  its  formation  may  have  been  a  very  rapid  one,  such  as  is  obtained  in  the  manufacture  of 
fine  salt ;  and  to  this  may  be  attributed  the  circumstance  of  its  fine  texture.  The  color  is  white — 
sometimes  a  little  grayish,  when  it  resembles  the  finer  varieties  of  Muscovado  sugar.  60  ft. 

4.  Limestone ;  slaty,  striped  with  curved  zones ;  very  argillaceous,  softer  than  the  preced¬ 
ing  ;  structure  quite  earthy  ;  color  light  yellow.  10  ft. 

5.  Limestone  ;  bluish,  or  yellowish  gray,  conglomeritic  with  small  black  pebbles  of  quartz  ; 
more  crystalline  than  the  last ;  vesicular ;  rises  four  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river.  7  ft. 

6.  Limestone ;  much  finer  grained  and  more  earthy  than  the  last.  The  bed  of  the  river  near 
the  fort  is  excavated  in  this  limestone.t  4  ft. 

He  remarks  that  at  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  the  same  section  may  be 
een,  except  that  the  lower  limestones  are  not  there  visible.  The  foregoing 
limestones,  stated  to  lie  below  the  sandstone  at  F ort  Snelling,  must  have 
been  large  fallen  fragments  from  the  top  of  the  bluff,  since  no  subsequent 
observer  has  ever  reported  them.  Mr.  Featherstonhaugh  makes  the  same 
correction. 

KEATING  ON  THE  MINNESOTA  RIVER. 

At  the  Indian  village  of  Taoapa,  estimated  at  thirty-seven  and  one-half 
miles  from  Fort  Snelling,  probably  the  same  place  as  Shakopee,  Major  Long 
observed  limestone  which  appeared  to  him  to  be  in  situ. 

Keating  mentions  the  rapids  at  Carver,  “caused  by  two  bars  of  sandstone,” 
the  first  forming  a  fall  of  four  feet  in  twenty  yards.  Half  a  mile  above  this 
is  a  second  bar.  The  aggregate  fall  is  estimated  to  be  seven  feet.  This 
sandstone  is  seen  in  the  bank,  and  “resembles  that  at  Fort  Snelling.  It 

*  Major  Long’s  party  forded  the  river  above  the  falls,  walking  on  the  rock  from  the  west  to  the  east  side.  Prof. 
Keating,  who  was  debilitated  by  a  fever,  succeeded  in  reaching  only  the  island  dividing  the  fall,  and  with  great  difficulty 
returned  to  the  west  bank. 

tOompare  Bulletins  of  the  Minnesota  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  Vol.  1,  p.  91. 


36 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Keating,  1823. 


has  a  fine  crystalline  grain  and  a  color  varying  from  white  to  yellow.”* 
Apparently  not  observing  that  this  sandstone  rises  gradually  higher  in 
ascending  the  valley,  he  refers  to  several  “hills”  located  near  the  river, 
one  of  which,  “composed  principally  of  loose  sand,”  was  estimated  at  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  hight.  At  Camp  Crescent  (old  Travers  des 
Sioux)r  Major  Long’s  party  abandoned  the  canoes  and  followed  the  trail 
to  Redstone,  thus  cutting  off  the  great  bend  where  the  Blue  Earth  river 
enters  the  Minnesota,  and  losing  the  opportunity  of  examining  the  copper 
mine  of  Le  Sueur. 

Up  to  the  point  of  abandoning  the  canoes  the  banks  of  the  Minnesota 
are  stated  to  be  composed  chiefly  if  not  altogether  of  sandstone.  On  the 
last  day  of  travel  in  the  canoes,  a  bluff  was  seen  rising  sixty  to  eighty  feet, 
consisting  of  white  sandstone,  and  called  White  Rock,  probably  near  Ottawa. 
He  also  observed  at  a  distance  horizontal  ledges  of  rock  that  he  considered 
“the  limestone  that  lies  on  the  sandstone.”  This  point  was  probably  at  or 
near  Kasota.  The  only  streams  that  are  regarded  worthy  of  mention  up  to 
Camp  Crescent,  are  the  Elk,  entering  on  the  right  bank,  said  to  be  about 

twenty  miles  above  the  fort,  now  called  Credit  river,  and  “the  small  rivulet 

% 

which  comes  in  from  the  left  bank  about  forty  miles  above  the  fort,  and  which 
is  probably  the  same  as  Carver’s  river.”  The  forest  was  found  to  consist 
chiefly  of  maple,  white  walnut,  hickory,  oak,  elm,  ash  and  linden,  inter¬ 
spersed  with  grapevines,  &c.,  and  the  absence  of  black  walnut  was  particu¬ 
larly  observed. 

The  party  seem  not  to  have  passed  near  enough  to  the  red  quartzyte 
outcrop  near  New  Ulm  to  have  noticed  it,  since  Keating  makes  no  mention 
of  it.  The  Blue  Earth  is  said  to  take  its  rise  “in  the  Coteau  des  Prairies, 
a  highland  that  stretches  in  a  northerly  direction  between  the  Missouri 
and  the  St.  Peter.”  This  is  the  first  mention  of  this  natural  phenomenon 
under  that  name. 

BOULDERS  OF  PRIMITIVE  ROCK  IN  THE  MINNESOTA  VALLEY. 


In  reference  to  the  granite  and  gneiss  of  the  valley  Keating  makes  the 


following  observation : 


*The  sandstone  here  mentioned  by  Keating  is  the  Jordan  sandstone  lying  below  the  Shakopee  limestone. 


1823,  Keating  ] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


37 


A  feature  which  struck  us  was  the  abundance  of  fragments  of  primitive  rocks  whicli  are 
strewn  in  this  valley ;  they  were  for  the  most  part  deeply  imbedded  in  the  ground,  and  bore  but 
few  traces  of  attrition;  their  bulk  was  very  large.  Eor  a  while  we  doubted  whether  we  were  not 
treading  upon  a  crust  of  a  formation  of  primitive  rocks,  which  pierced  through  the  superincumbent 
formations ;  but  a  close  observation  evinced  such  a  confusion  and  diversity  in  the  nature  of  the 
primitive  blocks,  as  well  as  such  signs  of  friction,  as  satisfied  us  that  these  were  out  of  place; 
still  they  appeared  to  warrant  the  geologist  in  his  prediction,  that  the  party  was  approaching  to  a 
primitive  formation,  and  that  certainly  the  valley  of  the  St.  Peter  had  been  one  of  the  channels 
through  wliich'thegprimitive  boulders  had  been  removed  from  their  original  site.  This  assertion 
was  fully  substantiated  two  days  afterward  by  the  discovery  of  the  primitive  rocks  in  situ.  A  very 
considerable  swell  between  the  river  and  the  right  bank  of  the  valley  was  supposed  to  be  formed 
by  the  primitive  rocks  rising  to  a  greater  level  than  usual.  If  it  be  occasioned  by  an  accumulation 
of  fragments  and  boulders,  as  the  nature  of  its  surface  might  lead  to  believe,  it  is  a  very  interest¬ 
ing  feature  in  the  valley. 

In  traveling  up  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota  river,  on  the  south  side, 
various  interesting  observations  were  recorded,  respecting  the  fauna-  and 
flora  of  the  prairies,  from  which  is  the  following  extract: 

Among  the  birds  observed  on  the  prairie,  besides  the  sand-hill  crane,  are  the  red-bird,  black¬ 
bird,  yellow-headed  black-bird,  the  black-breasted  tern,  the  last  of  which  was  very  abundant. 
Mr.  Say  shot  the  female  of  the  Mergus  cucullatus  and  a  blue- winged  teal.  Among  the  reptiles, 
besides  the  common  garter-snake,  there  was  one  with  lateral  red  spots.  A  coluber  like  the  melan- 
oleucus,  but  spotted,  and  similar  to  that  found  on  the  Missouri,  was  killed  on  these  prairies.  In 
several  of  the  marshes  the  huts  of  the  muskrat  were  found  very  abundant.  The  herbarium  was 
enriched  by  the  addition  of  a  beautiful  specimen  of  the  Lilium  Philadelphicum,  which  was  still 
seen  flowering,  though  it  had  nearly  ceased  to  bloom.  Another  great  ornament  of  the  prairies  is 
the  Lilium  superbum.  The  Gerardia  was  still  occasionally  seen.  This  plant  is,  as  we  were 
informed,  considered  by  the  Indians  to  be  a  specific  against  the  bite  of  a  rattlesnake  ;  the  root  is 
scraped  and  the  scrapings  applied  to  the  wound  ;  it  is  said  that,  if  used  upon  a  recent  wound,  a 
single  application  will  suffice.  The  boulders  which  are  so  common  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Peter, 
are  but  seldom  seen  on  the  prairies. 

No  further  geological  notes  are  made  till  reaching  the  Redwood  river, 
when  he  makes  the  statement  that  its  banks  “are  formed  of  a  fine  white 
sandstone.”  It  is  probable  that  he  mistook  at  a  distance,  the  white  kaolin 
bluffs  which  occur  at  that  point,  derived  from  the  decomposition  of  the 
granite  in  situ,  for  sandstone.  There  is  a  little  sand  in  the  Cretaceous  at  that 
point,  but  there  are  no  bluffs  of  white  sand.  The  red  pipestone  was  said  to 
exist  on  its  banks  at  three  days’  journey  from  its  source. 

No  primitive  rock  in  situ  was  noted,  although  it  occurs  at  frequent  inter¬ 
vals  between  New  Ulm  and  Big  Stone  lake,  till  he  reached  a  point  several 
miles  above  Patterson’s  rapids.  He  notes  “  a  very  interesting  fragment  of 
rock”  at  the  place  where  the  Redwood  joins  the  Minnesota,  said  to  be  forty 
or  fifty  feet  in  circumference,  evidently  out  of  place,  of  an  enormous  mass, 
and  irregular  hemispherical  form,  cleft  by  lightning.  This  mass  was  said 
to  be  granitic,  presenting  “very  distinctly  the  appearance  of  a  formation  of 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Keating,  18*3. 


concentric  shales.”  The  rock  at  Patterson’s  rapids  was  considered  as  primi¬ 
tive,  but  was  not  carefully  examined. 

GRANITE  IN  THE  MINNESOTA  VALLEY. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  18th  of  July,  Major  Long’s  party  first  met  with 
unmistakable  primitive  rock  in  situ ,  at  a  point  a  few  miles  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Yellow  Medicine  river.  Of  this  Keating  remarks  : 

When  descending  into  the  valley  from  the  prairie,  with  a  view  to  select  a  suitable  spot  for 
our  evening’s  camp,  our  attention  was  suddenly  called  to  the  new  features  which  it  displayed. 
High  rocks  of  a  rugged  aspect  arose  in  an  insulated  manner  in  the  midst  of  the  widened  valley 
through  which  the  St.  Peter  winds  its  way.  We  spent  the  rest  of  the  afternoon  in  examining 
them,  and  experienced  no  little  satisfaction  in  finding  them  to  be  primitive  rocks  in  situ. 

The  pleasure  we  experienced  sprang  not  from  the  mere  associations  of  home,  connected  with 
the  view  of  a  primitive  formation  which  we  had  not  seen  since  the  first  five  days  of  our  journey; 
but  it  resulted  also,  in  a  great  measure,  from  the  certainty  that  we  had  at  last  arrived  at  what  we 
had  long  been  looking  for  in  vain.  We  had  traced  those  scattered  boulders  which  lay  insulated 
in  the  prairies  from  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum  to  this  place ;  we  had  seen  them  gradually 
increasing  in  size  and  number,  and  presenting  fewer  signs  of  attrition  as  we  advanced  further  on 
our  journey.  Two  days  before,  their  number,  size  and  features  had  induced  the  geologist  of  the 
party  to  predict  our  speedy  approach  to  the  primitive  formations,  and  it  was  a  pleasing  confirma¬ 
tion  of  his  opinions  to  find  these  rocks  really  in  situ ,  within  thirty  miles,  in  a  straight  line,  of  the 
place  where  he  had  made  this  assertion.  The  character  of  these  rocks  was  examined  with  care, 
and  found  very  curious.  It  seemed  as  if  four  simple  minerals,  quartz,  fieldspar,  mica  and  amphi- 
bole,  had  united  here  to  produce  almost  all  the  varieties  of  combination  which  can  arise  from  the 
association  of  two  or  more  of  these  minerals ;  and  these  combinations  were  in  such  immediate 
contact  that  the  same  fragment  might,  as  we  viewed  one  or  the  other  end  of  it,  be  referred  to 
different  rocks ;  while,  in  some  places,  granite  was  seen  perfectly  well  characterized,  varying  from 
the  fine  to  the  coarse  grained ;  in  others  a  gneiss,  mica  slate,  greisen  (quarts  and  mica)  compact 
feldspar  (weisstein  of  Werner),  sienite,  greenstone,  and  the  sienite  with  the  addition  of  quartz 
forming  the  amphibolic  granite  of  D’Aubuisson,  were  equally  well  characterized.  The  only  rock 
composed  by  the  union  of  two  of  these  principles  which  we  did  not  observe,  but  which  may  perhaps 
exist  there,  is  the  graphic  granite  (pegmatite,  Hauy).  These  rocks  are  not  very  extensive;  the 
circumference  of  the  largest  probably  does  not  exceed  one-quarter  of  a  mile;  they  rise  to  about 
thirty-five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water.  Their  form  is  irregular ;  their  aspect  rugged  and 
barren  compared  with  the  fertile  bottom  of  the  valley  ;  their  general  color  is  of  a  dark  gray  ;  they 
appear  to  be  the  summit  or  crest  of  primitive  rocks  which  lie  beneath  this  valley,  and  which  pro¬ 
trude  at  this  place  through  the  superior  strata.  As  the  adjoining  prairies  are  elevated  about  fifty 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  river,  these  primitive  rocks  are  observable  only  in  the  valley ;  they 
doubtless  constituted  at  one  time  a  continuous  ridge,  but  have  been  divided  into  insulated  masses 
by  the  corroding  action  of  the  stream,  whose  very  circuitous  bed  winds  between  them.  They  extend 
upon  a  distance  of  about  six  miles  in  the  direction  of  the  valley.  After  having  examined  almost 
every  one  of  these  masses,  I  feel  unwilling  to  decide,  with  certainty,  which  of  the  primitive 
combinations  predominates,  for  the  passage  of  the  one  into  the  other  is  more  constant  and  more 
sudden  than  in  any  other  primitive  formation  that  has  ever  come  under  our  notice.  Indeed  we 
know  of  none  with  which  to  compare  it,  except  it  be  that  which  we  observed  at  a  subsequent  period 
of  the  expedition  between  lake  Winnipeek  and  the  lake  of  the  Woods ;  but  even  there  the  features 
were  somewhat  different,  for  they  were  on  a  larger  scale.  The  passages  which  we  there  observed 
were  sometimes  to  be  traced  only  upon  large  masses;  whereas  on  the  St.  Peter  it  would  have  been 
difficult  to  break  off  a  fragment  of  a  cubic  foot  in  size  presenting  an  uniform  character  of  com¬ 
position.  It  is  however  probable,  as  far  as  our  observations  extended,  that  granite  is  the  pre¬ 
dominating  rock.  These  masses  bear  very  evident  signs  of  a  crystalline  origin,  but  the  process 


1823,  Keating.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


39 


must  have  been  a  confused  one.  Tourmaline  is  found  disseminated  throughout  the  rock,  yet  in  no 
great  abundance.  In  one  or  two  spots  where  the  mass  assumed  a  more  slaty  appearance  than  in 
other  places  a  faint  tendency  to  a  stratification,  directed  from  the  north-northeast  to  the  south- 
southwest,  with  a  dip  toward  the  south,  was  observed.  Viewing  the  insulated  masses  from  the 
prairie,  they  appeared  to  be  directed  in  a  transverse  line  through  the  valley,  and  in  a  northeast¬ 
erly  course,  so  that  this  may  be  the  remains  of  a  dike  which  existed  across  the  valley,  but 
which  was  finally  broken.  This  observation  was,  however,  a  partial  one,  and  it  would  be  improper 
to  attach  much  weight  to  it.  When  calling  the  attention  of  our  guide  to  the  difference  between 
these  rocks  and  those  observed  below,  he  appeared  to  have  been  aware  of  it  himself,  and  stated 
that  rock  similar  to  these  extended  down  the  valley  to  about  four  miles  below  Redwood  rivulet. 
It  was  partly  from  this  circumstance  that  we  inferred  that  Patterson’s  rapids  were  probably 
formed  by  a  bar  of  these  rocks  rising  across  the  bed  of  the  river.  This  appeared  to  us  to  be  the 
more  probable  from  the  circumstance  that  a  rapid  known  by  the  name  of  the  Little  falls,  occurs 
just  above  the  place  of  our  encampment  of  the  18th,  and  that  it  is  occasioned  by  a  ledge  of  granite 
rocks  over  which  the  river  passes  at  this  place.  In  the  examination  of  this  spot  two  points 
appeared  to  us  chiefly  to  deserve  our  attention,  in  order  to  avoid  all  source  of  error ;  the  first  was 
to  ascertain  that  the  rocks  were  really  in  situ ;  the  second,  that  they  were  primitive  and  crystalline, 
not  conglomerated  or  regenerated  rocks,  such  as  are  sometimes  observed.  But  upon  these  two 
points  we  think  that  not  the  least  doubt  can  be  entertained.  The  immense  mass  of  these 
insulated  rocks,  the  uniform  hight  to  which  they  attain,  the  uniform  direction  in  which  they  lie, 
prove  them  to  be  in  place ;  while  an  attentive  inspection  of  their  nature  shows  them  to  be  really 
crystalline.  There  is  a  gradual,  though  rapid,  passage  of  the  granite  into  the  sienite,  which 
proves  them  to  be  of  contemporaneous  formation,  and  which  precludes  the  idea  that  the  rock  is 
formed  by  the  union  of  fragments  of  granite,  sienite,  &c.,  cemented  together. 

The  discovery  of  this  granitic  formation  here  appeared  the  more  interesting,  as  its  small 
extent  might  easily  have  prevented  us  from  observing  it,  had  uot  chance  brought  us  to  the  river 
at  this  place ;  for  if  we  had  been  traveling  on  the  prairie,  within  half  a  mile  of  the  edge  of  the 
bank,  the  greater  hight  of  the  bluff  would  have  concealed  these  rocky  islands  from  our  view. 
We  feel,  therefore,  unable  to  decide  whether  they  do  not  occur  at  some  other  bends  of  the  river 
which  we  avoided ;  yet  from  the  character  of  the  stream  itself  we  doubt  it.  For  we  find  that  as 
soon  as  these  rocks  protrude  into  the  valley,  they  occasion  rapids  and  falls  in  the  river,  while  other¬ 
wise  its  course  is  smooth.  Had  we  not  seen  the  “  Little  rapids  ”,  which  we  passed  on  the  11th, 
we  might  have  been  induced  to  consider  them  as  resulting  from  the  appearance  of  the  primitive 
rocks  at  the  surface,  but  having  examined  with  care  the  sandstone  rocks,  by  which  they  are  pro¬ 
duced,  and  having  ascertained  that  no  other  rapids  are  found  in  the  St.  Peter,  between  these  and 
the  Patterson  falls,  we  are  induced  to  believe  that  this  is  the  only  place  where  granite  may  be  seen 
in  situ.  In  attempting  to  connect  this  primitive  formation  with  those  observed  elsewhere,  we  find 
that  it  lies  in  a  direction  about  W.  S.  W.,at  a  distance  probably  not  exceeding  eighty  miles,  of  the 
“granitic  and  hornblendic  rocks”  which  Mr.  Schoolcraft  states  as  having  seen  “occasionally  rising 
in  rugged  peaks  and  beds”  on  the  Mississippi.*  We  feel,  however,  disposed  to  consider  all  this 
section  of  our  country  as  reposing  on  this  granite,  and  we  entertain  but  little  doubt  of  its  identity 
with  the  sienitic  granite  observed  at  a  later  period  of  our  journey,  and  which  we  first  struck  near 
fort  Alexander  at  the  mouth  of  the  Winnipeek  river. 

Subsequently  Mr.  Keating  observed  that  these  rocks,  which  were  made 
out  to  be  in  latitude  44°  41'  26"  N.,  did  not  extend  far  in* the  valley.  The 
last  of  them  were  seen  at  about  four  miles  above  the  little  falls,  and  he 
was  assured  by  the  guide  that  they  did  not  recur  for  a  considerable  distance. 
Still  he  observed,  at  a  distance,  a  rocky  island  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  which 
had  the  same  kind  of  rock  as  that  at  Patterson’s  rapids;  and  again  at  points 
further  up  the  valley  rocky  knolls  were  observed. 


♦Schoolcraft’s  Narrative,  p.  288, 


40 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Keating,  1823. 


The  recurrence  of  these  primitive  knobs  disturbs  the  current  of  the  river,  and  renders  the 
navigation  difficult  and  hazardous.  Five  miles  below  the  encampment  of  the  19tli  there  is  a 
place  where  the  boats  and  their  loads  are  carried  for  the  distance  of  a  mile ;  from  which  circum¬ 
stance  the  place  is  called  the  Grand  Portage.  By  this  portage  the  canoes  avoid  thirteen  rapids ; 
these,  with  twenty-six  other  rapids,  constitute  all  the  obstructions  to  the  navigation  of  the  river  from 
its  source  to  its  mouth.  In  a  good  stage  of  the  waters,  there  are,  however,  but  two  portages,  of 
which  this  is  one.  Among  the  tributaries  passed  that  day  only  one  deserves  to  be  mentioned.  It 
is  called  the  Pejeliata  Zeze  Watapan  ( yellow  medicine )  It  is  about  the  same  size  as  the  Itedwood, 
and  rises,  in  like  manner,  at  the  base  of  the  Coteau  des  prairies.  Nearly  opposite  to  it  a  small 
stream  falls  in  ;  the  Indians  call  it  the  Chataba  (that  hatches  sparrow-hawks );  the  traders  term  it 
L'Fau  de  Vie.  On  our  map  we  have  retained  the  name  Epervier,  which  being  in  use  among  some 
of  the  traders,  and  intelligible  both  to  French  and  English  travelers,  appears  likely  to  prevail. 

The  foregoing  exposures  were  wholly  below  Lac  qui  Parle,  which  is 
said  to  be  a  short  day’s  journey  further  up,  consisting  of  an  expansion  of 
the  river,  similar  to  lake  Pepin,  about  seven  and  a  half  miles  long,  and 
from  one-quarter  to  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide.  Mention  is  made  of 
the  Chippewa  river,  coming  in  from  the  north,  said  to  interlock  with  the 
headwaters  of  the  Red  river,  also  of  “  Beaver  rivulet  ”  (Lac  qui  Parle  river) 
which,  with  steep  and  high  banks  consisting  of  loose,  white  sand,  joins  the 
St.  Peter  near  the  foot  of  Lac  qui  parle.  Of  the  country  about  Lac  qui 
parle  Keating  notes  that  the  elevation  evidently  became  greater  as  they 
advanced,  but  with  no  hills  of  any  magnitude,  the  only  ascents  being  the 
river  bluffs,  which  sometimes  reach  or  exceed  one  hundred  feet.  The  sur¬ 
rounding  undulated  plains  were  destitute  of  wood,  the  only  trees  seen 
skirting  along  the  water-courses.  Above  the  lake  the  bluffs  are  said  to 
diminish  in  hight,  not  being  more  than  forty  feet,  the  high  prairie  some¬ 
times  blending  gradually  with  the  river  valley.  Above  the  lake  the  St. 
Peter  was  found  to  be  only  a  rivulet  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  wide,  very 
much  obstructed  with  high  grass  and  wild  rice,  and  stagnant  water.  Five 
leagues  higher  the  Spirit  Mountain*  creek  joins  the  St.  Peter  from  the 
south,  so  named  from  a  hill  near  which  it  is  said  to  rise.  Near  the  mouth 
of  this  stream  the  primitive  rock  is  again  noted  scattered  here  and  there 
across  the  valley,  one  exposure  in  particular  being  remarkable  for  the 
beauty  of  its  feldspar,  which  is  described  as  “very  lamellar,  with  an  easy 
cleavage,  and  intermixed  with  quartz,  giving  it  almost  the  appearance  of 
graphic  granite.”  Big  Stone  lake  is  described  as  the  “  last  expansion  of 
the  river,  improperly  called  a  lake.” 


♦Yellow  Bank  river. 


1823,  Keating.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


41 


THE  COTEAU  DES  PRAIRIES. 

Although  the  party  did  not  visit  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  Prof.  Keating 
makes  some  interesting  notes  on  its  character  and  direction,  which  may 
be  summarized  briefly  thus:  Its  hight  above  the  St.  Peter,  at  Big  Stone 
lake,  is  thought  to  be  not  short  of  1,000  feet.  According  to  the  best  infor¬ 
mation  he  could  obtain,  “  this  ridge  commences  about  the  49th  parallel  ot 
north  latitude,  and  between  the  98th  and  99th  degrees  of  west  longitude 
from  Greenwich.  It  proceeds  in  a  direction  nearly  south  south-east,  passes 
east  of  the  group  of  small  lakes  called  Devil’s  lake,  divides  the  tributaries 
of  the  St.  Peter  from  those  of  the  Missouri,  and  extends  southerly  as  far 
as  the  head  of  the  Blue  Earth,  where  it  gradually  widens  and  sinks  to  the 
level  of  the  surrounding  country.”  He  mentions  a  second  ridge  or  coteau, 
commencing  at  the  southern  bend  of  Mouse  river,  running  in  a  direction 
nearly  parallel  with  that  of  the  other,  from  near  the  48th  parallel  to  beyond 
the  44th  parallel,  in  a  southeasterly  course  for  about  eighty  miles,  when  it 
turns  to  the  west  of  south  and  likewise  sinks  and  disappears,  the  valley  of 
the  James  river  being  between  the  two  ridges.  Mr.  Keating  was  informed 
that  no  rocks  can  be  seen  composing  the  Coteau,  but  that  it  presents  a 
uniformly  smooth,  prairie- like  appearance,  the  ascent  being  gradual  aud 
easy  on  both  sides.  He  however  was  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  formed 
by  an  elevation  of  the  granite  rocks  above  their  usual  level,  although, 
perhaps,  covered  as  with  a  mantle  by  the  secondary  and  alluvial  rocks, 
predicting  that  if  its  whole  course  were  to  be  followed  “  from  the  Assini- 
boine  to  the  Blue  Earth  ”  the  geologist  would  be  rewarded  by  the  discovery 
of  the  “  granite  formations,  if  not  along  the  whole  of  its  crest,  at  least  in 
some  of  the  ravines  which  head  near  it.”  Above  Big  Stone  lake  the  St.  Peter 
is  said  to  divide  itself  into  two  branches,  coming  from  the  west,  heading  in 
the  Coteau,  one  of  which  comes  from  west  by  south  for  abont  twelve  miles. 
The  northern,  and  larger  branch,  has  its  source  in  Polecat  lake,  about 
twenty-four  miles  distant,  west  by  north,  from  the  point  where  they  join 
Big  Stone  lake.  That  lake  is  one  and  a  half  miles  long,  and  half  a  mile  wide, 
and  frequently  dry.  There  are  many  indications  in  the  narrative  that 
this  hasty  reconnoissance  of  the  Minnesota  valley  was  not  satisfactory  to 
Prof.  Keating. 


42 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Keating,  1823. 


In  the  Red  River  valley  Keating  mentions  numerous  salt  springs,  one 
being  situated  at  the  confluence  of  Red  Lake  river  with  the  Red  river  of  the 
North;  states  that  although  the  soil  of  the  prairies  is  occasionally  sandy, 

« 

it  is  generally  argillaceous  and  rather  dry,  yielding  along  the  river  valley 
and  its  tributaries  a  good  grass,  though  at  a  distance  a  rather  scanty  growth, 
but  being  extremely  fertile  wherever  trees  were  seen  to  be  growing  ;  and 
attributes  to  the  annual  fires  that  run  over  the  prairies  the  principal  agency 
in  keeping  the  country  treeless. 

ON  THE  NORTHERN  BOUNDARY. 

Respecting  the  northern  boundary  of  Minnesota,  Prof.  Keating  gives 
the  first  geological  information,  besides  naming  for  the  first  time  several  of 
the  principal  rivers  in  that  part  of  the  state.  Ascending  the  Winnipeg  river 
from  lake  Winnipeg  he  found  a  great  contrast  between  the  adjacent  country 
and  that  through  which  he  had  been  traveling  hitherto.  The  country  is 
rocky  very  soon  after  leaving  lake  Winnipeg,  with  the  crystalline  rocks 
common  to  the  northern  part  of  Minnesota,  there  being  between  lake 
Winnipeg  and  the  lake  of  the  Woods  several  alternations  from  red  granite 
and  gneiss  to  slate  and  schists.  The  timber  which  sets  in  with  this  change 
in  the  character  of  the  rocks,  consists  of  a  great  abundance  of  evergreens, 
deciduous  trees  being  rather  the  exception.  The  conifers  were  found  to 
be  tamarack,  juniper,  spruce,  white  pine,  pitch  pine  &c.,  interspersed  with 
spots  where  aspen  and  birch  were  found  common,  and  other  spots  of  hazel, 
willow  and  cherry.  The  rocks  and  the  general  characters  of  the  country  at 
the  lake  of  the  Woods  were  stated  to  be  similar  to  those  of  the  Winnipeg 
river.  The  lake  is  filled  with  islands,  all  resting  on  the  solid  rock  which 
was  found  to  be  generally  a  greenish  or  micaceous  slate.  One  island,  known 
as  Red  Rock  island,*  was  of  a  reddish  granite.  The  direction  of  the  “strata” 
of  the  mica  slate  was  stated  to  vary  from  N.  60°  to  N.  80°  E.  and  the  angle 
of  inclination  to  vary  from  65°  or  70°  to  perpendicular;  but  it  is  quite  prob¬ 
able  that  Keating  here  refers  to  the  direction  and  dip  of  the  slaty  cleavage. 
Although  no  limestone  in  situ  is  reported  by  Keating,  he  refers  to  the  fact 
that  Dr.  Bigsby,  whom  he  met  on  the  British  Northern  Boundary  Com- 


*Subsequently  named  Keating  Island  by  Mr.  G.  M.  Dawson. 


1823  Keating.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


43 


mission,  states  that  it  exists  on  the  shore  of  the  lake.*  In  Rainy-lake  river 
he  mentions  two  places  only,  where  canoes  are  lightened  and  towed  up,  the 
current  of  this  river  being  generally  steady  and  of  greater  depth.  The  face 
of  the  country  also  changed  very  perceptibly,  becoming  more  cheerful,  and 
the  grass  “  of  a  livelier  green.”  At  its  mouth  the  banks  of  the  stream  are 
low  and  marshy;  beyond  this  eastward  they  rise  somewhat,  but  do  not 
become  hilly;  the  river  having  often  a  pebbly  bed,  leading  to  an  anticipa¬ 
tion  of  limestone  rocks  in  situ.  The  rocks,  however,  seldom  appeared  in 
place  along  the  river,  and  when  seen  consisted  of  mica  slate  and  syenite  ; 
the  slate  containing,  according  to  Dr.  Bigsby,  the  mineral  staurotide.f  The 
fall  at  Rainy  Lake  fort  is  surpassed  by  two  or  three  only  of  those  on  Win¬ 
nipeg  river.  “  The  whole  of  the  waters  of  the  lake  discharge  themselves 
into  the  river  by  these  falls,  the  hight  of  which  is  about  twenty-five  feet. 
The  beauty  of  the  spot  depends  much  on  the  wildness  of  the  rocky  scenery, 

occasioning  a  foaming  or  dashing  of  waves  that  are  very  striking.  The  rock 

% 

is  chiefly  sienite,  in  which  we  thought  we  could  distinguish  a  tendency  to 
a  stratification  directed  about  northeast  and  inclining  about  65°  to  the 
southeast.  This,  however,  may  have  been  a  local  feature.  The  principal 
growth  about  the  lake  is  the  pitch  pine,  white  pine  and  spruce.  The  soil  is 
rather  light,  but  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  fort  it  is  excellent ;  potatoes 
and  wheat  are  cultivated,  together  with  maize,  pease,  pumpkins,  beans,  water 
and  musk  melons,  &c.,  &c.  The  wild  strawberry  seemed  to  be  more  abun¬ 
dant  there  than  elsewhere.  Our  soldiers  were  kept  busy,  while  encamped  at 
the  fort,  in  fishing  for  the  pike  and  freshwater  salmon,  which  are  found  in 
great  abundance  and  excellence  at  the  falls.”  Throughout  Rainy  lake  are 
many  small  islands,  which,  according  to  Keating,  are  based  on  a  rock  which 
for  the  most  part  is  a  mica-slate,  with  strata  directed  north  70°  east,  and 
nearly  vertical ;  but  in  a  few  places  may  be  seen  granite  and  syenite,  the 
lake  thus  resembling  in  most  of  its  characters  the  physical  features  of  the 
lake  of  the  Woods.  East  of  Rainy  lake  the  party  pursued  the  boundary 
line  canoe-route  as  far  as  the  east  end  of  Sturgeon  island  and  there  diverged 
northward,  reaching  Fort  William  through  a  region  of  successive  lakes,  and 
a  rocky  country,  descending  what  was  known  as  Dog  river,  but  now  as 
Kamanistigoia. 

*Dr.  J.  J.  Bigsby  reports  limestone  in  situ  on  the  shores  of  the  southwest  part  of  the  lake,  “some  miles  off  in  a  low 
country,  and  buried  beneath  mounds  of  quartzose,  sand,  clay,  and  immense  assemblages  of  blocks  from  the  north.” 

t  See  Bigsby’s  List  of  minerals  and  organic  remains,  in  Am.  Jour.  Sci.  (1)  VIII,  p.  60,  and  Jour.  Oeol.  Soc.  London 

Vol.  VIII,  p.  405. 


44 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Long,  1823. 


MAJOR  LONG’S  RESUME  OF  THE  EXPEDITION. 

In  a  general  topographical  report  of  the  expedition  Major  Long  men¬ 
tions  the  chief  physical  features  of  the  country  traversed,  repeating  many 
of  the  facts  given  by  Keating  in  his  journal.  The  Coteau  des  Prairies,  he  says, 
is  a  very  remarkable  feature  in  the  aspect  of  the  country  about  the  head¬ 
waters  of  the  Minnesota  river.  He  regards  it  not  only  as  the  dividing  ridge 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Missouri  rivers,  but  as  a  “grand  dike,” 
obstructing  the  latter  in  its  progress  eastward.  Its  elevation  he  gives  at 
one  thousand  feet  above  the  common  level  of  the  country.  He  mentions  a 
second  ridge  west  of  the  main  one,  with  the  James  river  between  them,  the 
two  being  thirty  or  forty  miles  apart.  Of  the  Red  river  he  says  it  is  navi¬ 
gable  for  canoes,  and  even  for  pirogues  of  two  tons  burden,  from  its  mouth 
to  its  source,  as  also  to  the  sources  of  several  of  its  tributaries  when  swollen 
by  freshets.  “O11  such  occasions  canoes  have  been  known  to  pass  from  lake 
Travers,  its  source,  into  the  St.  Peter,  and  back  again,  without  inconven¬ 
ience."  He  estimates  the  descent  from  lake  Traverse  to  lake  Winnipeg  at 
200  feet,  and  that  from  the  lake  of  the  Woods  at  400  feet.  Lake  Winnipeg  he 
places  at  680  feet  above  the  ocean,  Rainy  lake  1100  feet,  and  lake  of  the 
Woods  at  1040  feet,  and  the  general  elevation  of  the  country  containing 
the  sources  of  the  streams  tributary  to  lakes  Superior  and  Winnipeg,  and 
to  the  Mississippi  river,  at  1200  feet. 

BELTRAMI  DISCOVERS  THE  JULIAN  SOURCES  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

In  Major  Long’s  party  for  the  exploration  of  the  St.  Peter’s  river,  was 
an  educated  Italian  gentleman,  a  political  exile,  of  a  romantic  and  senti¬ 
mental  cast  of  mind,  named  J.  C.  Beltrami,  who,  having  joined  the  expedi¬ 
tion  at  Fort  Snelling,  accompanied  it  as  far  as  “Pembinar,”  where,  considering 
himself  rather  discourteously  treated  by  Major  Long,  and  wishing  to  signalize 
his  visit  to  the  Northwest  by  some  noteworthy  discovery  on  his  own  account, 
he  parted  from  Major  Long  and  reached  the  upper  Mississippi  at  Red  Cedar 
lake,  by  way  of  Bloody  river,*  Red  lake,  and  Turtle  lake,  and  descended  it 
as  far  as  New  Orleans,  where  he  published  his  notes  in  French,-}-  at  a  date 


*Now  the  Red  Lake  river. 

t  La  Decouverte  des  Sources  du  Mississippi  et  de  la  riviere  Sanglante.  One  volume  8vo.  328  p.,  New  Orleans,  1824 


823,  Beltrami  ] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


45 


considerably  earlier  than  the  appearance  of  any  of  the  official  papers  ol 
Major  Long,  and  several  years  earlier  than  Keating’s  “Narrative.”  It  was 
subsequently  enlarged  and  reprinted  in  London  in  English.*  Although  his 
“letters,”  constituting  as  they  do  a  gossipy  and  literary  curiosity  in  the  field 
of  exploration,  maybe  justly  styled  a  romance  in  the  discovery  of  the  upper 
Mississippi,  and  although  they  are  characterized  by  numerous  errors,  both 
historical  and  geographical,  as  well  as  ethnological  and  zoological,  they 
still  give  some  additional  information  respecting  the  geography  of  the 
upper  Mississippi  and  Red  lake.  The  Minnesota  legislature  having  set 
aside  a  large  tract,  under  the  name  of  Beltrami  county,  covering  the  Julian 
sources  of  the  Mississippi,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  names  applied  by  Mr. 
Beltrami  to  the  lakes  and  streams  he  visited  may  be  preserved  in  the  future 
settlement  of  the  region,  which,  however,  is  still  nearly  as  wild  and  unin¬ 
habited  as  when  Mr.  Beltrami  passed  through  it. 


Figure  4. 


BELTRAMI’S  MAP  OF  THE  JULIAN  SOURCES. 
[Fac-simile.] 


The  above  fac-simile  of  that  portion  of  Beltrami’s  map  embracing  the 
region  of  the  Julian  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  coincides  with  his  statement 

*A  Pilgrimage  in  Europe  and  America,  leading  to  the  discovery  of  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  and  Bloody  river 
with  a  description  of  the  whole  course  of  the  former,  and  of  the  Ohio,  by  J.  C.  Beltrami,  Esq.,  formerly  Judge  of  a  royal 
court  in  the  Ex-Kingdom  of  Italy,  London.  1828,  2  volfl,,  8vo.  pp.  1093. 


46 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Beltrami,  18*3. 


that  he  traveled  almost  due  south  from  Red  lake  to  Red  Cedar  lake.  But 
in  fact  Red  Cedar  lake  is  considerably  to  the  eastward  of  Red  lake,  and  his 
course  of  travel  was  necessarily  about  southeast.  The  river  which  he  first 
struck  in  traveling  from  “  Pembinar”  was  the  Thief  river.  His  map  names 
it  Valeuse,  and  his  book  Robbers’  river.  His  Indian  guides  found  here  their 
canoe  which  they  had  secreted  for  a  murderous  foray  on  the  Sioux  the 
previous  week.  Before  reaching  Red  lake  he  was  attacked  by  the  Sioux, 
and  one  of  his  Chippewas  was  wounded  in  the  arm.  This  caused  them  to 
desert  him  and  pursue  the  route  by  land  to  Red  lake.  Then  he  started 
alone  to  drag  the  canoe  containing  his  baggage  to  the  lake  by  a  cord,  being 
unable  to  paddle  it  in  the  manner  of  the  Indian.  Meeting  a  party  of  Indians 
descending  the  “  Bloody”  river,  he  prevailed  on  one  of  their  number  to  con¬ 
duct  him  to  the  lake.  Employing  there  a  hois  bride,  he  ascended  the  stream 
that  led  him  to  Turtle  lake,  first  making  a  long  portage,  to  avoid  an  exten¬ 
sive  wind-fall  which  had  thrown  many  large  forest  trees  across  the  stream. 
To  the  southwest  of  Red  lake  he  visited  and  named  a  series  of  eight  small  lakes, 
which  all  communicate  with  each  other,  of  which  Gravel  river  (Kahasini- 
lague)  is  the  outlet  into  Red  lake.  These  he  named  Alexander,  Lavinius, 
Everard,  Frederica,  Adela,  Magdalena,  Virginia  and  Eleonora,  names  of  a 
family  to  which  he  was  “united  by  the  most  cordial  friendship.”  On  the 
western  side  the  lake  receives  the  river  Broachus  (Kinongeo)  and  that  of 
the  Great  Rock  (Kisciacinabed).  The  next,  on  the  south  shore,  are  the 
Gravel  river  and  the  Gold  Fish  river  (Iviogokague),  also  the  Great  Portage 
(Madaoanakan).  On  the  southeast  is  the  Cormorant  river  (Cacakiscin). 
The  northern  portion  of  Red  lake  receives  the  Sturgeon  river  (Amenikanions) 
which  communicates  by  means  of  two  portages,  with  lake  Superior  and  the 
waters  of  Hudson’s  bay.  He  regarded  the  Great  Portage  river  as  the  real 
continuation  of  the  Bloody  river  and  cites  the  opinion  of  the  Indians  to 
that  effect.  “According  to  the  theory  of  ancient  geographers  the  sources  of 
a  river  which  are  most  in  a  line  with  its  mouth  should  be  considered  as  its 
principal  sources,  and  particularly  when  they  issue  from  a  cardinal  point 
and  flow  to  one  directly  opposite.”  For  the  purpose  of  ascending  this  river 
he  was  compelled  to  make  a  portage  of  twelve  miles,  beginning  on  the  lake 
between  it  and  Gold  Fish  river.  A  small  lake,  about  half  way  on  this 
portage,  he  styled  Avernus,  and  another  near  the  end  of  the  portage  he 


1823,  Beltrami.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


47 


named  lake  of  the  Pines,  “  from  the  immense  number  of  those  trees  with 
which  it  is  surrounded.”  Its  outlet  is  into  the  series  of  eight  lakes  that  are 
discharged  by  Gravel  river.  From  this  lake  he  made  another  portage  of 
four  miles  and  reached  the  Grand  Portage  river.  Ascending  this  river  he 
passed  two  lakes  which  he  denominated  Manomeny-Kany-aguen,  or  Wild 
Rice  lakes.  These  were  formed  by  the  enlargement  of  the  waters  of  the 
river.  The  third  lake,  formed  in  the  same  way,  the  Indians  called  Puposky- 
wiza -Kany-aguen,  or  end  of  the  shaking  lands ,  nearly  all  the  region  traversed 
from  the  lake  of  the  Pines,  being  so  low  and  nearly  level  as  almost  to  float 
upon  the  water.  About  six  miles  further  south  the  real  source  of  the  Bloody 
river  was  found.  It  “  springs  out  of  the  ground  in  the  middle  of  a  small 
prairie,  and  the  little  basin  into  which  it  bubbles  up  is  surrounded  by 
rushes.  We  approached  the  spot  within  fifty  paces  in  our  canoe.” 

LAKE  JULIA. 

Making  a  short  portage  from  this  spring,  over  a  hill,  Mr.  Beltrami 
approached  a  wonderful  lake.  It  is  situated  on  a  hill,  with  no  higher  land 
about  it,  in  “the  whole  extent  of  the  clearest  and  widest  horizon.”  Mr. 
Beltrami’s  florid  description  is  in  these  words  :  “  All  places  around  it  are, 

on  the  contrary,  considerably  lower.  I  have  made  long  excursions  in  all  its 
environs,  and  have  been  unable  to  perceive  any  volcanic  traces,  of  which 
its  banks  are  equally  destitute.  Yet  its  waters  boil  up  in  the  middle  ;  and 
all  my  sounding  lines  have  been  insufficient  to  ascertain  their  depth  ;  which 
may  be  considered  as  indicating  that  they  spring  from  the  bottom  of  some 
gulf,  the  cavities  of  which  extend  far  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth;  and 
their  limpid  character  is  almost  a  proof  that  they  become  purified  by  filtra¬ 
ting  through  long  subterraneous  sinuosities;  so  that  time  may  perhaps 
have  effaced  the  exterior  and  superficial  traces  of  a  volcano,  and  the  basin 
of  the  lake  have  been,  nevertheless,  its  effect  and  its  crater.  Whither  do 
these  waters  go?  This  I  conceive  may  be  more  easily  answered,  although 
there  is  no  apparent  issue  for  them.” 

From  this  lake  with  no  visible  outlet  he  supposes  there  is  a  filtration 
northward  so  as  to  supply  the  water  of  lake  Puposky,  thus  becoming  the 
source  of  Bloody  river,  and  also  southward,  where  they  appear  in  a  little 
basin  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  about  eighty  feet  in  circumference,  thus  becom- 


48 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Heltrami,  1823. 


ing  also  “the  actual  sources  of  the  Mississippi.”  This  remarkable  lake, 
which  he  styled  lake  Julia,  is  described  as  “about  three  miles  around,  in  the 
shape  of  a  heart,  and  it  may  be  truly  said  to  speak  to  the  very  soul.  Mine 
was  not  slightly  moved  by  it.  It  is  but  justice  to  draw  it  from  the  silence 
in  which  geography,  after  so  many  expeditions,  still  suffered  it  to  remain, 
and  to  point  it  out  to  the  world  in  all  its  honorable  distinction.” 

The  stream  from  the  small  basin  that  has  been  noticed,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  hill,  runs  directly  south,  and  after  three  miles  reaches  Turtle 
lake.  “  The  majestic  river,  which  embraces  a  world  in  its  immense  course, 
and  speaks  in  thunder  in  its  cataracts,  is  at  these,  its  sources,  nothing  but  a 
timid  Naiad,  stealing  cautiously  through  the  rushes  and  briars  which 
obstruct  its  passage.  The  famous  Mississippi,  whose  course  is  said  to  be 
twelve  hundred  leagues,  and  which  bears  navies  on  its  bosom,  and  steam¬ 
boats  superior  in  size  to  frigates,  is  at  its  source  merely  a  petty  stream  of 
crystalline  water,  concealing  itself  among  reeds  and  wild  rice  which  seem 
to  insult  over  its  humble  birth.” 

TURTLE  LAKE. 

Turtle  lake,  including  its  bays,  he  estimates  at  more  than  one  hundred 
miles  in  circumference.  The  first  lake  below  he  christened  Jeromine,  from 
the  countess  to  whom  his  letters  were  addressed.  Another,  seven  or  eight 
miles  further  east-southeast,  he  named  Monteleone.  A  stream  coming  into 
the  Mississippi  from  the  northwest  the  Indians  styled  Scisaiaguay ,  or  Heron 
river.  He  passed  up  this  tributary,  and  found  it  drained  a  number  of  small 
basins,  the  highest  of  which  he  named  lake  Torrigiani,  “from  the  stately 
and  spreading  trees  which  overhang  its  banks.”  From  this  he  made  a  port¬ 
age  northward  and  came  to  another  lake  of  an  oval  form,  which  he  named 
Antonelli,  four  or  five  miles  across.  This  discharges  into  Turtle  lake  near 
the  point  at  which  the  Mississippi  leaves  it. 

Descending  below  Turtle  lake  he  passed  four  lakes,  which  he  named 
Providence  lakes,  on  account,  as  he  says,  of  the  fields  of  wild  rice  which 
Providence  has  formed  there,  the  ears  of  which  resemble  those  of  the 
land  of  promise.  The  river,  throughout,  to  Red  Cedar  lake,  is  described  as 
having  a  deep,  steady  and  uniform  channel  and  current,  the  land  all  being 
low  and  frequently  submerged  or  shaking. 


1823,  Beltrami.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


49 


beltrami's  opinion  of  the  itascan  source. 

Mr.  Beltrami  heard  of  the  Itascan  branch  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  but  he 
regarded  it  as  a  subordinate  tributary,  and  did  not  pursue  it.  Had  he  not 
rested  his  claim  to  the  discovery  of  the  true  source  of  the  Mississippi,  con¬ 
fidently  on  the  principle  stated,  he  certainly  would  have  penetrated  to  its 
“western  sources”.  He  was  a  man  of  zeal,  adventure,  energy  and  ambition, 
and  never  would  have  left  the  region  without  visiting  what  he  styles  Doe 

lake,  had  he  supposed  there  was  'a  possibility  of  doubting  the  actuality  and 

% 

correctness  of  his  discovery.  This  western  branch  he  learned  of  under 
the  name  of  the  River  of  lake  Traverse,  and  says  that  above  lake  Traverse 
(Peinidji),  it  issues  from  a  lake  “which  receives  no  tributary  stream,  and 
seems  to  draw  its  waters  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth.  It  is  here,  in  my 
opinion,  that  we  shall  fix  the  western  sources  of  the  Mississippi.” 

Respecting  the  geology  of  the  country,  a  single  extract  from  Mr.  Bel¬ 
trami’s  pen  will  show  at  once  the  amount  and  character  of  the  information 
he  gives  us.  The  following  is  his  comment  on  the  valley  of  the  Redwood 
river,  near  its  mouth,  where  the  expedition  passed. 

BELTRAMI  AT  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  REDWOOD  RIVER. 

We  now  reached  a  valley  of  the  most  lovely  and  interesting  character.  Never  did  a  more 
striking  illusion  transport  my  imagination  back  to  the  classic  lands  of  Latium  and  Magna  Grsecia. 
Rocks  scattered,  as  if  by  art,  over  the  plain,  on  plateau,  and  on  hills,  were,  at  a  little  distance, 
perfect  representations  of  every  varied  form  of  the  ruins  of  antiquity.  In  one  place  you  might 
think  you  saw  thermal  substructures,  or  those  of  an  amphitheatre,  a  circus,  or  a  forum;  in  another 
the  remains  of  a  temple,  a  cenotaph,  a  basilicon,  or  a  triumphal  arch.  I  took  advantage  of  the 
time  which  chance  procured  me,  to  survey  this  enchanted  ground;  but  I  went  alone,  that  the  deli¬ 
cious  reverie  it  threw  me  into  might  not  be  broken  by  cold  heartedness  or  presumption.  My  eyes 
continually  met  new  images;  at  length  they  rested  on  a  sort  of  tomb,  which  for  some  time  held  me 
motionless.  A  thousand  afflicting  recollections  rushed  to  my  heart;  I  thought  I  beheld  the  tomb 
of  Virtue  and  of  Friendship;  I  rested  my  head  upon  it,  and  tears  filled  my  eyes.  The  spot  was  of 
a  kind  to  soften  and  embellish  grief,  and  I  should  have  long  given  myself  up  to  its  sweet  influence 
had  I  not  been  with  people  who  had  no  idea  of  stopping  for  any  thing  but  a  broken  saddle,  or  some 
such  important  incident. 

The  rocks  are  granitic,  and  of  so  beautiful  and  varied  a  quality,  that  the  tricking  dealers  of 
the  Piazza  Navona,  at  Rome,  would  sell  them  to  the  most  enthusiastic,  and, — in  their  own 
opinion, — the  most  learned  antiquarians,  as  oriental  and  Egyptian  porphyry  or  basalt,  which 
are  now  generally  admitted  to  be  merely  granite  more  elaborated  by  time  and  water. 

BELTRAMI  AT  THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

What  a  new  scene  presents  itself  to  my  eyes,  my  dear  Madam  !  How  shall  I  bring  it  before 
you  without  the  aid  of  either  painting  or  poetry?  I  will  give  you  the  best  outline  I  can,  and  your 
imagination  must  fill  it  up.  Seated  on  the  top  of  an  elevated  promontory,  I  see,  at  half  a  mile  dis- 


4 


50 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Schoolcraft.  1832. 


tance,  two  great  masses  of  water  unite  at  the  foot  of  an  island  which  they  encircle,  and  whose  majestic 
trees  deck  them  with  the  loveliest  hues,  in  which  all  the  magic  play  of  light  and  shade  are  reflected 
on  their  brilliant  surface.  From  this  point  they  rush  down  a  rapid  descent  about  200  feet  long, 
and,  breaking  against  the  scattered  rocks  which  obstruct  their  passage,  they  spray  up  and  dash 
together  in  a  thousand  varied  forms.  They  then  fall  into  a  transverse  basin,  in  the  form  of  a 
cradle,  and  are  urged  upwards  by  the  force  of  gravitation  against  the  side  of  a  precipice,  which 
seems  to  stop  them  but  a  moment,  only  to  increase  the  violence  with  which  they  fling  themselves 
down  a  depth  of  twenty  feet.  The  rocks  against  which  these  great  volumes  of  water  dash,  throw 
them  back  in  white  foam  and  glittering  spray ;  then,  plunging  into  the  cavities  which  this  mighty 
fall  has  hollowed,  they  rush  forth  again  in  tumultuous  waves,  and  once  more  break  against  a 
great  mass  of  sandstone  forming  a  little  island  in  the  midst  of  their  bed,  on  which  two  thick 
maples  spread  their  shady  branches. 


SCHOOLCRAFT  AT  ITASCA  LAKE  IN  1832. 

In  1832  Mr.  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft  conducted  an  expedition  to  the  source 
of  the  Mississippi  river,  pursuing  nearly  the  same  route  from  Sault  St.  Mary, 
as  in  1820.  From  Upper  Red  Cedar  lake  he  passed  up  the  Mississippi  under 
the  guidance  of  a  Chippewa  chief  named  Ozawindib,  accompanied  by  Dr. 
Douglass  Houghton,  afterward  state  geologist  of  Michigan,  Lieut.  James 
Allen,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Rev.  W.  T.  Boutwell,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  packers 
and  canoe-men.  Mr.  Schoolcraft-  regarded  himself  as  the  discoverer  of  the 
true  source  of  the  river,  and  in  the  absence  of  published  accounts  by  other 
travelers  it  was  a  just  claim.  Still  there  is  no  doubt  that  among  the 
coureurs  des  hois  of  the  fur  companies  there  were  several  who  knew  well 
that  the  Mississippi  could  not  be  followed  further  than  to  Itasca  lake.  Mr. 
Schoolcraft’s  claim  was  generally  scouted  among  the  white  residents  of  the 
northwest  who  were  at  all  conversant  with  file  country  during  the  previous 
twenty-five  years.  The  statement  of  Mr.  Morrison  of  his  visit  to  the  lake 
in  1804  has  already  been  referred  to,  and  to  him  it  is  just  to  accord  the 
discovery  of  the  source  of  the  great  river,  although  first  published  so  late  as 
1856.  Mr.  Schoolcraft’s  expedition,  however,  enjoyed  the  zest,  as  it  received 
the  popular  acceptance,  of  a  first  discovery,  and  he  fully  described  the 
route  he  took,  giving  several  names  to  lakes  before  unknown.  He  named 
the  first  lake  west  of  Cass  lake,  formed  by  the  expansion  northward  of  the 
Mississippi,  lake  Andrusia.  This  is  in  T.  146,  R.  31.  The  next,  which 
enlarges  toward  the  south,  situated  in  T.  146,  R.  32,  he  styled  the  Twin 
of  lake  Andrusia.  Its  Indian  name  was  Pamitascodiac,  preferable  to  that 
which  he  applied.  A  few  miles  above  this  point  begin  a  series  of  rapids, 
ten  in  number,  styled  Metoswa  rapids.  The  Indian  name  Pemidjegumaug 


1832,  Schoolcraft.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


51 


(now  lake  Pemidji),  which  is  the  Chippewa  for  Lac  Travers,  Mr.  School¬ 
craft  saw  a  good  reason  for  rejecting  in  favor  of  Queen  Anne,  whose  name 
he  applied  to  that  lake.  The  little  lake  immediately  south  of  it  he  dedi¬ 
cated  to  Washington  Irving.  Half  a  mile  above  this  he  reached  what  he 
styled  the  “primary  forks  of  the  Mississippi,”  that  from  the  west,  or  Itascan 
fork,  bearing  the  larger  volume  of  water.  Under  the  guidance  of  Oza- 
windib,  the  party  took  the  southern  fork,  through  which,  by  a  series  of 
lakes,  they  attained  a  point  nearly  east  from  Itasca  lake.  They  then  made 
a  grande  'portage  over  the  drift  hills  intervening,  to  Itasca  lake,  descending 
the  other  fork  to  Pemidji  lake  the  following  day.  He  bestowed  the 
name  of  Marquette  on  the  first  of  the  lakes  of  the  south  fork,  and  on  the 
second  that  of  La  Salle.  The  third  lake,  of  larger  dimensions,  deemed  by 
Lieut.  Allen  to  be  ten  miles  long,  he  named  Plantagenet.  Passing  the 
junction  of  the  Naiwa  river  and  at  the  same  time  ascending  a  rapid  by 
means  of  a  portage  trail  of  about  two  miles,  the  stream  was  again  struck  at 
a  point  a  few  miles  below  Assawa  or  Perch  lake.  A  short  distance  above 
this  lake  the  party  left  the  south  fork,  by  portage  to  Itasca  lake,*  the  eleva¬ 
tion  passed  over  being  estimated  at  1695  feet  above  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 

In  descending  the  other  fork  of  the  river,  from  Itasca  lake,  Mr.  School¬ 
craft  found  the  outlet  to  be  “  quite  a  brisk  brook,  with  the  mean  width  of 
ten  feet  and  the  depth  of  one  foot.”  After  passing  some  severe  rapids  he 
mentions  a  river  by  the  name  of  Chemaun,  entering  on  the  right  bank, 
which  nearly  doubles  the  volume  of  the  stream.  Further  down  enters  a 
stream,  with  a  lake  near  its  mouth,  which  the  Indians  styled  Piniddiwin 
(or  Carnage)  river,  but  which  he  denominated  He  Soto  river.  Both  these 
streams  enter  the  Mississippi  in  T.  146,  R.  35.  A  small  stream  below,  orig¬ 
inating  in  a  lake,  in  T.  146,  R.  34,  coming  in  on  the  left,  he  designated 
Allenoga,  “  putting  the  Iroquois  local  terminal  in  oga  to  the  name  of  the 
worthy  officer  who  traced  out  the  first  true  map  of  the  actual  sources  of  the 
Mississippi.”  He  also  applies  names  to  a  series  of  lakes  between  Leech  lake 
and  the  headwaters  of  the  Crow  Wing  river,  but  his  descriptions  cannot  be 
made  to  agree  with  any  published  maps  of  that  country,  particularly  in 
respect  to  distances  traveled,  and  the  sizes  of  the  lakes,  although  they  are 

*“ Having  previously  got  an  inkling  of  some  of  their  mythological  and  necromantic  notions  of  the  origin  and  mutations 
of  the  country  uhich  permitted  the  use  of  a  female  name  for  it,  I  denominated  it  Itasca."  —Schoolcraft  Disc.  Sources  Miss 
Mr.  Neill  has  stated  on  the  authority  of  Hev.  W.  T.  Boutwell,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  that  the  name  Itasca 
was  derived  by  Schoolcraft  from  the  Latin  words  veritas  and  caput,  meaning  true  source. 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Allen,  1832. 


represented  on  the  map  accompanying  his  Narrative ,  published  in  1834. 
Like  nearly  all  pioneer  travelers  he  over-estimates  distances.  The  following 
names  he  applies  to  lakes  between  Leech  lake  and  the  month  of  Shell  river, 
and  they  should  he  perpetuated  on  the  settlement  of  the  country,  viz.: 
Warpool,  Little  Long,  lake  of  the  Mountain,  lake  of  the  Isle,  Longwater 
lake  (the  source  of  this  branch  of  Crow  Wing  river),  Little  Vermilion,  Birch, 
Lac  Pie,  Assowa,  Lac  Vieux  Desert,  Long  Rice,  Allen,  llligan  and  Douglass. 
Schoolcraft  descended  the  Crow  Wing  river  to  its  union  with  the  Missis¬ 
sippi,  being  the  first  to  explore  it,  and  to  render  an  account  of  its  course.* 


LIEUT.  JAMES  ALLENS  REPORT  OF  SCHOOLCRAFT’S  EXPEDITION  OF  1832  TO  THE 

SOURCE  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 


Lieut.  Allen’s  reportf  is  accompanied  by  a  map  of  the  country  from  the 
Red  river  of  the  North  to  the  Bois  Brule  river  of  Wisconsin,  extending  from 
lake  Pepin  to  Red  lake.  On  this  map  the  Cloquet  river  is  named  Rapid  river. 
The  principal  sources  of  the  St.  Louis  river  are  represented  to  come  from 
Vermilion  lake  and  White  Wood  lake,  the  latter  probably  being  intended 
for  what  is  now  known  as  Basswood  lake.  The  branches  of  the  St.  Croix 
river  from  the  west,  in  descending  order,  are  Pine  river,  Nenandag  river, 
Fowle  river,  Kettle  river,  Snake  river,  and  three  others  above  St.  Croix  lake. 
One  also  joins  St.  Croix  lake  from  the  west.  Ascending  the  Mississippi  river 
above  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  the  following  are  represented  as  its  eastern 
tributaries,  Raccoon  river  (now  Coon  creek  in  Anoka  county),  Rum  river, 
Leaf  or  St.  Francis  river,  Elk  river,  Clear  river,  Long  river  (having  its  source 
in  Long  lake  situated  west  of  Mille  Lacs),  Muddy  creek,  West  Savanna 
river,  Swan,  Trout,  Prairie  and  Deer  rivers;  the  last  being  the  first  stream 
above  Pokegama  falls.  The  western  branches  above  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony, 


*  Resulting  from  this  expedition  were  the  following  scientific  papers: — 

1.  Limits  of  the  range  of  the  Cervus  sylvestris,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  United  States.  By  Henry  R.  School¬ 
craft.  [Northwest  Journal  ] 

2.  Description  of  the  Fringilia  vespertina,  discovered  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft  in  the  Northwest,  By  William  Cooper. 
[An.  N.  Y.  Lyc.  Nat.  Hist.] 

3.  List  of  shells  collected  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft  in  the  western  and  northwestern  territory.  By  William  Cooper. 

4  List  of  species  and  localities  of  plants  collected  in  the  northwestern  expeditions  of  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  of  1831  and 
1832.  By  Douglass  Houghton.  M.  D. 

5.  A  report  on  the  existence  of  deposits  of  copper  in  the  geological  basin  of  lake  Superior  By  Dr.  D.  Houghton. 

6.  Remarks  on  the  occurrence  of  native  silver  and  ores  of  silver  in  the  stratification  of  the  basins  of  lakes  Huron 
and  Superior.  By  Hem  y  R  Schoolcraft. 

7.  A  general  summary  of  the  localities  of  minerals  observed  in  the  Northwest  in  1831  and  1832.  By  Henry  R. 
Schoolcraft. 

8.  Geological  outline  of  the  Taquimenon  valley  of  lake  Superior.  By  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft. 

9  Suggestions  respecting  the  geological  epoch  of  the  deposit  of  sandstone  rock  at  St.  Mary’s  falls.  Ry  Henry  R. 
Schoolcralt. 

Of  the  above,  those  not  otherwise  noted,  are  in  the  appendix  to  Schoolcraft’s  work,  Discovery  of  the  Sources  of  the 
Mississippi. 

fAmerican  State  Papers  Vol.  V.  Military  Affairs  p.  312. 


1832,  Allen.  | 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


58 


so  far  as  named,  are  Rice  (probably  Shingle  creek  in  Hennepin  county), 
Crow,  Sac,  Elk,  Swan,  Crow  Wing,  Pine,  and  Willow.  The  Crow  Wing  has 
a  northern  tributary  near  its  mouth  called  Salt  river,  coming  from  Gull 
lake.  The  Shell  river  rises  in  Shell  lake,  and  the  Leaf  river  is  not  named. 
Although  his  journal  alludes  to  Leaf  river,  giving  it  a  size  nearly  as  large  as 
the  Crow  Wing  where  they  join,  and  states  its  source  is  in  Leaf  lake  fifty 
miles  above  its  mouth,  yet  neither  is  represented  on  his  map.  He  has 
incorrectly  named  it  “Shell  river,”  which  really  joins  the  Crow  Wing  much 
higher  up,  as  represented  by  Schoolcraft,  and  later  by  Nicollet.  A  large 
tributary  of  the  St.  Peter’s  river  from  the  north  is  Beaver  river,  undoubtedly 
the  Pomme  de  Terre  (or  Tipsinah)  river.  Big  Stone  lake  is  named  Big  Salt 
lake,  and  the  Minnesota  river  above  that  lake  is  called  Cold  creek.  The 

|HHM  ’  1 

head  of  the  Coteau  is  styled  “Thunder  Nest  Mountains,”  and  a  series  of 
“salt  ponds  ”  is  represented  just  to  the  east.  The  eastern  branches  of  the  Red 
river  of  the  North  are  the  Chippewa,  the  Wild  Rice,  Plum,  Sand  Hill  and 
Red  Lake  rivers.  The  map  is  characterized  by  the  representation  of  marked 
•  hill -ranges,  sometimes  called  mountains.  The  great  moraine  of  western 
Minnesota  is  shown  from  a  point  north  of  Cass  lake  southward  to  near  the 
source  of  the  Crow  river,  under  the  name,  “  Dividing  Ridge  between  the 
Mississippi  and  Red  rivers.”  The  “  Cabotian  Mountains”  begin  between  the 
Cloquet  river  and  lake  Superior  and  extend  southwestwardly  across  the 
St.  Louis  river,  forming  the  Dalles,  and  several  miles  further.  A  range 
designated  “Pine  hills”,  extends  from  the  upper  St.  Croix  lake  westward 
nearly  to  the  source  of  Snake  river.  The  Nemadji,  or  Left  Hand  river, 
entering  lake  Superior  near  Superior  City,  is  named  “  La  Riviere  a  Gauche.” 
Red  Cedar  lake  is  near  the  Mississippi  northwest  of  Mille  Lacs,  and  Red  lake 
is  between  it  and  Long  lake  toward  the  southwest,  and  empties  into  the 
Mississippi  by  a  small  stream. 

Lieut.  Allen  further  defines  the  geography  of  the  upper  Mississippi  in 

\ 

his  journal,  mentioning  various  streams  and  lakes  that  are  not  put  down  on 
his  map.  J11  first  making  the  “grand  portage”  through  the  Cabotian 
mountains,  he  describes  it  as  running  back  from  the  river  in  some  places 
four  or  five  miles  but  touching  it  at  “La  Roche  Galet.”  The  rock  in  the 
river  at  the  upper  end  of  the  portage  is  described  as  “coarse,  hard,  argillite 
rock,”  and  the  country  through  which  it  passes  as  rich,  and  timbered  with 


54 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Allen,  1832. 


birch,  pine  and  sugar  maple.  “  Three  miles”  above  the  grand  portage  begins 
th q portage  a  couteau,  or  knife  portage,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  beginning 
at  a  small  island  of  argillyte  which  rises  abruptly  to  the  liight  of  100  feet, 
in  the  midst  of  the  river  at  the  foot  of  a  strong  rapid.  This  portage  is 
stated  to  be  a  mile  and  a  half  long.  “  Nine  and  a  half  miles”  above  the  knife 
portage  he  mentions  continued  rapids  through  argillyte  rock  for  about  four 
miles.  The  St.  Louis  river  of  the  map  he  styles  Fond  du  Lac  river  in  his 
journal.  The  country  on  the  portage  to  the  West  Savanna  river  is  described 
as  very  swampy,  but  divided  by  a  ridge  of  higher  land  timbered  with  sugar 
maple,  birch  and  linn,  running  southeastwardly,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  West  Savanna  river.  It  is  less  than  half  a  mile  wide,  and  is  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  swamps  again  on  its  west  or  Mississippi  side,  which  extend  with 
some  alternating  ridges  of  higher  land  to  the  West  Savanna  river.  The 
highest  point  on  the  portage  is  about  150  feet  above  the  Savanna  rivers. 
Sandy  lake  overflows  with  the  Mississippi,  and  the  great  flood  covers  the 
country  for  many  miles  around.  At  “Pacagama  falls”  the  descent  of  the 
river  is  between  twenty  and  thirty  feet  in  the  distance  of  a  hundred  yards, 
and  is  nowhere  perpendicular,  but  the  channel  is  much  contracted.  In  one 
place  the  whole  water  runs  down  the  surface  of  a  smooth,  plain  rock  for  a 
distance  of  forty  feet,  with  a  pitch  of  about  twelve  degrees.  The  river  is 
here  said  to  break  through  a  low  ridge  that  traverses  its  course  perpen¬ 
dicularly  in  a  northeast  and  southwest  direction,  the  rock  being  of  granular 
quartz.  At  a  small  stream  which  joins  the  Mississippi  a  short  distance  above 
the  falls*  from  the  west,  commence  the  great  swamps  and  savannas  which 
border  the  Mississippi  on  one  or  both  sides  for  a  great  distance  above.  By 
way  of  Lac  la  Crosse  (remarkable  for  the  fine  whitefish  it  afforded)  and  a  small 
river  extending  three  or  tour  miles  to  another  little  lake,  he  left  the  Missis¬ 
sippi,  at  last,  making  a  portage  of  800  yards  to  Little  Winnipeg  lake,  through 
which  the  Mississippi  runs.  A  few  miles  further  up  he  reached  Big  Winnipeg 
lake,  from  which  he  says  there  is  a  short  portage  to  a  river  of  Rainy  lake, 
probably  the  Big  Fork  river.  Red  Cedar  lake,  the  former  name  of  Cass  lake, 
derived  its  name  from  a  little  high  island  called  Red  Cedar  island. 


1832,  Allen,] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


r  ^ 

DO 


LIEUT.  ALLEN  AT  THE  SOURCE  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  ON  THE  CROW  WING 

RIVER. 

In  company  with  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  Lieut.  Allen  left  Cass  lake  under  the 
guidance  of  Yellow  Head,  an  Indian  of  the  Cass  lake  band,  for  the  explora¬ 
tion  of  the  Mississippi  river  to  its  source.  Passing  Lac  Travers,  now  lake 
Pemidji,  which  he  describes  as  a  beautiful  lake  about  ten  miles  long  from 
north  to  south  and  about  half  as  broad,  surrounded  by  pine  woods  which 
rise  into  high  hills  on  the  north  and  northwest,  forming  a  part  of  the  chain 
dividing  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  from  those  of  the  Red  river,  he 
followed  a  broad  channel,  100  yards  long,  and  reached  another  small  lake. 
Half  a  mile  above  this  he  reached  the  forks  of  the  river,  the  branches 
being  nearly  of  the  same  width,  but  the  right  hand  branch  having  the 
most  water  discharge.  He  ascended  the  left  branch,  and  in  about  twelve 
miles  reached  lake  Rahbahkanna,  or  Resting  lake,  which  is  four  miles  in 
diameter  and  nearly  round.  Ascending  the  river  still  further,  a  distance 
estimated  by  him  between  fifty  and  sixty  miles,  he  reached  Usaw-way,  or 
Perch,  lake,  which  is  about  two  miles  long  and  half  a  mile  broad.  From 
this  lake  he  set  out  overland  to  Lac  la  Biche,  which  was  supposed  to  be  the 
source  of  the  larger  fork  of  the  Mississippi,  making  a  portage  of  six  miles, 
and  struck  the  lake  near  the  end  of  its  southeastern  bay.  The  portage 
passed  over  a  rough  country,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  the  lake, 
with  tamarack  swamps  and  Banks’  pine,  the  latter  growing  in  a  poor  and 
sandy  soil,  hung  with  lichens  and  without  animal  life.  Mr.  Schoolcraft 
hoisted  a  flag  on  a  high  staff,  on  the  island,  and  left  it  flying.  Lac  la  Biche 
is  said  to  be  about  seven  miles  long  and  from  one  to  three  broad,  but  of 
irregular  shape,  conforming  to  the  bases  of  the  pine  hills  which  for  a  great 
part  of  its  circumference  rise  abruptly  from  its  shore.  Its  shores  are 
formed  of  boulders  of  primitive  rock  but  have  no  rock  in  place.  School¬ 
craft  island  is  150  yards  long  and  50  yards  broad.  The  Indian  who  acted 
as  guide  declared  this  lake  to  be  the  “true  source  and  fountain  of  the  long¬ 
est  and  largest  branch  of  the  Mississippi.”  He  had  hunted  all  round  it,  and 

said  there  was  a  little  creek  too  small  for  the  smallest  canoes  to  ascend, 
% 

emptying  into  the  south  bay  of  the  lake  and  having  its  source  “at  the  base 
of  a  chain  of  high  hills,  which  we  could  see  not  two  miles  off.”  To  the 


56 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Allen,  1831. 


west  he  saw  distinctly  “a  range  of  almost  mountains,  covered  with  pine, 
which  was  undoubtedly  the  chain  dividing  us  from  the  waters  of  the  Red 
river.”  Respecting  the  “Julian  sources”  Lieut.  Allen  says:  “There  is,  how¬ 
ever,  a  little  stream.  Turtle  river,  entering  Cass  lake  from  the  north,  in  the 
route  of  traders  to  Turtle  lake  and  Red  lake,  but  it  is  a  very  small  and  insig¬ 
nificant  stream,  and  is  only  forty-dive  miles  in  length.”  On  leaving  Lac  la 
Biche  he  found  the  Mississippi  twenty  feet  broad  and  two  feet  deep  with  a 
current  two  miles  per  hour.  It  soon  ran  through  a  chain  of  high  pine  hills, 
where  the  channel  contracted  very  much  and  numerous  rapids  occurred,  ol 
very  great  fall  over  boulders  of  primitive  rock,  the  river  running  for  a  dis¬ 
tance  in  a  deep  ravine. 

Lieut.  Allen  made  a  series  of  portages,  and  traverses  of  little  lakes, 
from  the  south  end  of  Leech  lake  “to  Long  lake,  the  source  of  Crow  Wing 
river.  These  portages  were  all  short,  and  over  pine  ridges,  with  yellow  and 
pitch  pine;  the  lakes  were  deep,  clear  and  beautiful,  with  pine  hills  coming 
down  to  the  water.  The  lakes  had  neither  inlet  nor  outlet,  and  from  the 
summits  of  the  hills  several  could  be  seen  at  once.  Long  lake  is  only  the 
beginning  of  a  chain  of  eleven  pretty  little  lakes  near  together,  from  two 
to  five  miles  in  length,  from  which  the  Crow  Wing  takes  its  rise.  ” 

In  descending  the  Crow  Wing  river  Lieut.  Allen  mentions  the  Leaf 
and  the  Shell  rivers,  but  gets  their  names  interchanged;  also  the  Long 
Prairie  river,  but  he  does  not  name  it  on  his  map. 

LIEUT.  ALLEN  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

At  the  “little  falls”  he  describes  the  river  as  forming  a  chute,  and  con¬ 
tracted  from  800  jrards  to  fifty  yards,  the  fall  amounting  to  ten  feet  in  sixty, 
“  through  a  formation  of  talcous  slate  rock,  the  first  rock  we  had  seen  in 
place  since  leaving  the  falls  of  Pacagama.  A  little  further  down  we  passed 
Pike  rapids,  and  the  site  of  Pike's  blockhouse,  where  Lieut.  Pike  wintered 
his  command  in  1805-6 ;  and  a  little  further  a  chain  of  rapids  called  the 
‘  grand  rapids,’  where  the  river  runs  over  an  extensive  rock  formation  of 
granular  quartz."  He  also  mentions  another  rapid  at  the  mouth  of  Elk 
river,  and  the  “big  falls”  at  the  mouth  of  Sac  river,  and  a  short  distance 
above  the  latter  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Sac,  or  Wattah,  river ;  also,  the 


1835,  Featherstonhaugh.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


•r  — 

5/ 


“  mouth  of  the  St.  Francis,  or  Parallel,  river,  a  considerable  stream  running 
parallel  with  the  Mississippi,  and  navigable  for  canoes  150  miles.”  The 
Rum  river,  on  the  same  side,  is  said  to  he  navigable  for  canoes  150  miles  to 
“  Mil  Lac,  a  lake  almost  as  large  as  Cass  lake.” 

0 

The  whole  descent  at  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  including  the  rapids,  he 
estimated  at  eighty  feet,  the  perpendicular  fall  at  eighteen  feet. 

LIEUT.  ALLEN  ON  THE  ST.  CROIX  RIVER. 

The  St.  Croix  enters  the  Mississippi  by  a  mouth  seventy-five  yards  broad,  opposite  an  island 
of  the  latter,  and  fifty  miles  below  Fort  Snelling.  Its  right  bank  at  the  mouth  is  a  perpendicular 
rock  eight  or  ten  feet  high  (calcareous  sandrock)  and  the  left  is  a  low  acute  point.  A  few 
hundred  yards  from  the  mouth  it  opens  into  a  long,  narrow  lake,  lake  St.  Croix,  which  seems  to 
fill  or  lie  in  a  valley,  the  hills  rising  to  form  its  banks,  on  each  side,  in  green  gentle  slopes.  * 

*  *  *  A  few  miles  above  where  I  encamped,  the  river  is  traversed  by  a  primitive  rock 

which  for  a  distance  of  one  or  two  hundred  yards,  confines  the  channel  within  perpendicular 
walls  fifty  feet  high,  and  rises  in  a  high  abrupt  little  island  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  but 
occasions  no  rapid.  Above  this  the  banks  are  high  and  steep,  but  not  rocky,  till  within  a  mile  of 
the  falls,  when  the  channel  becomes  suddenly  contracted  to  from  fifteen  to  thirty  yards,  by  rocks 
forming  mural  precipices  on  each  side  fifty  and  a  hundred  feet  high,  between  which  the  river, 
though  very  deep,  is  urged  with  great  velocity.  This  rock  and  the  narrow  channel  continues, 
with  a  few  interruptions  of  caves  and  fissures,  one  mile  up,  to  the  falls,  where  the  river  is  but 
forty  feet  broad,  and  rushes  with  great  force  and  violence  down  a  fall  of  fifty  feet  in  three 
hundred  yards.  The  whole  of  this  rock  is  greenstone  trap,  and  its  surface  presented  to  the  river 
in  high  cliffs  is  exceedingly  rugged  and  broken,  prismatic  fragments  being  continually  detached 
from  it  and  tumbled  down. 

In  the  further  ascent  of  the  St.  Croix  river  to  the  upper  St.  Croix  lake, 
Lieut.  Allen  encountered  great  difficulties,  on  account  of  being  abandoned 
by  Mr.  Schoolcraft  and  his  party,  and  on  account  of  the  almost  intermina¬ 
ble  rapids.  His  description  of  this  stream  above  the  falls  of  St.  Croix  con- 
firms  Duluth’s  assertion  as  quoted  by  La  Salle,  that  in  descending  it  he 
“  had  passed  forty  leagues  of  rapids.” 

G.  W.  FEATHERSTONHAUGH,  U.  S.  GEOLOGIST. 

In  the  summers  of  1S34  and  1885,  an  English  gentleman,  under  the  title 
of  LT.  S.  Geologist,  was  commissioned  by  Col.  J.  J.  Abert,  of  the  bureau  of 
topographical  engineers,  with  loose  and  apparently  aimless  instructions,  to 
execute  rambling  explorations  in  the  western  country.  The  first  year  he 
visited  the  Red  river  of  Arkansas,  and  the  second  he  proceeded  to  the 
vicinity  of  that  elevated  ridge  which  separates  the  Missouri  river  from  the 
St.  Peter’s.  From  the  latter  expedition  resulted  two  works — one  entitled 
“  Report  of  a  geological  reconnoissance  made  in  1835,  from  the  seat  of  govern- 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Feathcrstonhaugh,  1835. 


58 


ment  by  the  way. of  Green  bay  and  the  Wisconsin  territory  to  the  Coteau 
des  Prairies,  an  elevated  ridge  dividing  the  Missouri  from  the  St.  Peter’s 
river,”  printed  by  order  of  the  Senate  in  1S86,  and  the  other  “  A  Canoe 

Voyage  up  the  Minnay  Sotar,”  published  in  London  in  1847. 

% 

The  latter  is  taken  up  largely  with  personal  and  journalistic  details, 
and  the  former  with  a  statement  of  geological  principles,  as  understood  by 
English  geologists  of  that  day.  In  his  geological  report  proper  Mr.  Feath- 
erstonhaugh  ascribes  the  existence  of  lake  Pepin  to  the  entrance  of  the 
Chippewa  river,  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  Mississippi,  damming  up  the 
water  above  it ;  mentions  Castle  rock  as  an  instance  of  how  “  the  mineral 
level  has  been  reduced,”  and  gives  an  illustration  of  it,  in  which  it  appears 
very  much  as  it  does  at  the  present  day;  visited  Fountain  cave  near  St.  Paul, 
and  describes  it  under  the  impression  that  it  is  that  visited  by  Carver;  speaks 
of  the  “  carboniferous  limestone  ”  at  Fort  Snelling,  correcting  Mr.  Keating’s 
error  in  supposing  fallen  pieces  of  limestone  from  the  top  of  the  bluff  were 
in  situ  at  the  level  of  the  river,  and  gives  the  following  account  of  the  falls 
of  St.  Anthony : 


FEATHERSTONHAUGH  AT  THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

An  island  about  450  yards  long  divides  the  Mississippi  into  two  parts  at  the  falls  of  St. 
Anthony,  which  have  a  very  irregular  outline,  owing  to  the  soft  sandstone  being  washed  out  une¬ 
qually  in  places,  and  the  superincumbent  strata  of  limestone  falling  down  in  large  blocks ;  these 
are  piled  up  in  large  quanities  on  the  bed  of  the  river  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  falls.  That 
part  of  the  river  on  the  north  side  of  the  island  is  about  220  yards  wide.  There  is  a  very  fine, 
smooth  section  of  the  rocks  here  to  the  water,  about  ninety  feet  high.  I  should  think  the  fall 
would  not  average  more  than  twenty  feet.  The  immense  slabs  which  have  fallen  from  the  lime¬ 
stone  beds  at  the  top  are  covered  with  producta,  mixed  with  spirifers  and  cardia.  On  the  south 
side  of  the  river  the  line  of  the  falls  is  a  very  irregular  curvature,  and  measures  about  450  yards 
to  the  island ;  the  hight  of  the  fall  does  not  appear  so  great  on  this  side,  owing  perhaps  to  the 
bed  of  the  river  being  so  much  choked  up  with  the  fallen  slabs.  It  is  a  wild  rocky  scene,  but 
deficient  in  interest  as  a  waterfall  on  account  of  its  want  of  hight.  To  a  geologist,  however,  it  is 
exceedingly  interesting,  finding  here  the  uninterrupted  continuation,  for  one  thousand  miles,  of 
the  carboniferous  limestone  with  its  characteristic  fossils.  At  the  south  side  of  the  falls  1  got 
some  exceedingly  fine  ones,  including  beautiful  specimens  of  delphinula,  bellerophon,  nautilus, 
euomphalus,  &c. 


FEATHERSTONHAUGH  ASCENDS  THE  MINNESOTA  RIVER. 

Mr.  Featherstonhaugh's  geological  notes  on  the  Minnesota  river  may  he 
summarized  somewhat  as  follows.  Mentioning  Carver’s  river,  he  says : 
“  Something  short  of  fifty  miles  from  the  fort  there  is  a  short  rapid  with 


1 835,  Featherstonhaugh.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


59 


a  strong  current.  Above  this  is  another  rapid,  with  sandstone  in  place  on 
the  right  bank,  the  same  as  at  the  fort.”  This  is  probably  the  rapid  near 
Carver. 

Further  up  the  Bois  Franc  district,  a  stream  comes  in  from  the  left  bank  called  Wee-tah 
Wakatah,  or  Tall  island,*  and  about  five  miles  higher  up  some  ledges  of  horizontal  fawn-colored 
limestone  jut  out  on  the  right  bank,  very  cherty  and  somewhat  vesicular ;  near  the  surface  it  takes  a 
reddish  salmon-color,  resembling  very  much  some  beds  I  had  previously  seen  on  the  Wisconsin  and 
upper  Mississippi.  Within  a  few  yards  of  these  ledges,  and  north  of  them,  a  beautiful  pellucid  stream 
comes  in,  containing  the  purest  water  I  had  seen  in  the  country.  1  could  not  learn  that  any  name 
had  been  given  to  it,  and  as  it  is  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  first  calcareous  rock  I  had  met 
with  in  place  here,  and  its  purity  rendering  it  a  very  rare  stream  in  a  country  where  all  are  turbid, 
I  named  it  Abert’s  run,  after  Col.  Abert,  of  the  United  States  army,  and  chief  of  the  topographi¬ 
cal  bureau. t 

Eight  or  nine  miles  below  Traverse  des  Sioux  is  Myah  Skah,  or  White 
Rock,;];  where  he  mentions  an  escarpment  consisting  of  forty  feet  of  granular 
sandstone  surmounted  by  ten  feet  of  fawn-colored  limestone,  the  same  as 
that  at  Abert’s  run.  This  sandstone,  he  says,  is  formed  of  semi-transparent 
grains  loosely  adhering,  with  nodules  here  and  there,  where  they  are 
cemented  by  a  paste  of  clear  siliceous  matter;  the  whole  making  a  hard 
flinty  mass  resembling  siliceous  oolite.  At  the  j  unction  of  the  limestone  with 
the  sandstone  he  notes  a  seam  of  marly,  mineral  matter  “  containing  a  great 
deal  of  silicate  of  iron,”  of  a  bluish -green  color.  About  two  miles  above 
Moon  creek§  (or  camp  Crescent,  of  Keating)  he  saw  the  sandstone  and  lime¬ 
stone  again  in  place  ;  again,  at  a  point  three  miles  higher,  a  long  bluff 
twenty-five  feet  in  hight.  Five  miles  further  the  White  Earth  bluff  occurs, 
where  he  mentions  multitudes  of  large  boulders  on  the  prairie,  some  of 
which  he  estimates  at  100  tons’  weight.  Beyond  this  point,  having  passed 
an  island  about  400  yards  long,  the  current  becoming  very  strong,  with  bold 
bluffs  and  many  boulders,  he  judged  that  the  river  had  worked  its  way 
through  a  ridge.  Sixteen  miles  beyond  this  point  he  estimated  the  bluffs 
at  150  feet  in  hight,  and  found  the  current  of  the  river  swift,  this  being  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Makato,  or  Blue  Earth  river. 

In  searching  for  the  supposed  copper  mines  of  Le  Sueur,  under  the 
guidance  of  his  interpeter,  Milor,  he  could  ascertain  nothing,  not  even  a 
traditional  report,  of  anything  like  a  copper  mine  in  that  region.  The 

*  High  Island  creek,  four  miles  north  of  Henderson. 

f  The  inaccuracies  of  Mr.  Featherstonhaugh’s  description,  even  with  the  aid  of  his  small  map,  render  it  impossible  • 
to  state  what  stream  is  here  meant ;  but  the  bluff  of  rock  seems  to  be  that  situated  at  Rocky  point,  Sec.  30,  Blakely. 

*.  Near  Ottawa. 

\  Keating  ascribes  the  name  Crescent  to  a  bend  in  the  Minnesota  river,  but  Mr.  Featherstonhaugh  says  it  is  due  to  a 
series  of  half-moon  turns  in  the  little  creek  that  enters  from  the  east  a  short  distance  below  the  Traverse  des  Sioux. 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Featherstonhaugh,  1835. 


60 


Indians  concurred  in  saying  that  there  were  some  bluffs  a  few  miles  beyond 
the  St.  Peters  where  they  procured  a  blue  earth  with  which  to  paint  them¬ 
selves;  and  this  point  was  so  precisely  described  that  he  had  no  difficulty 
in  finding  it.  In  passing  up  he  evidently  regarded  the  Le  Sueur  as  the  main 
stream,  and  refers  to  the  fork  now  styled  the  Blue  Earth,  as  “a  fork  of  the 
river  from  the  left  bank/’  This  he  ascended,  finding  little  current,  and  at  a 
place  estimated  at  two  miles  from  the  fork,  came  to  a  bluff  about  150  feet 
high  on  the  left  bank,  containing  the  blue-earth  locality.  a0n  climbing  it 
I  found  the  same  horizontal  limestone  and  siliceous  sandstone  common  to 
the  whole  country.  Toward  the  top  was  a  broad  seam  of  bluish  clay  inter¬ 
mixed  in  places  with  silicate  of  iron,  being  a  continuation  of  the  deposit  I 
had  seen  before  at  Myakah,  and  valuable  only  for  the  savages  to  paint  them¬ 
selves  with.  From  this  bluff  I  advanced  in  a  westerly  direction  about  two 
miles,  over  a  part  of  the  country  grown  up  with  small  poplars,  hazels,  wild 
roses  and  grass,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  and  of  making 
arrangements  to  proceed  to  it  from  this  quarter;  but  I  saw  nothing  of  the 
kind  from  any  eminence  which  I  could  gain,  and  having  in  my  hand,  and 
reading  on  the  spot,  what  had  been  said  by  M.  Le  Sueur,  his  mountains  and 
his  copper  mines,  I  found  myself  obliged  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
these  discoveries  were  fables  invented  to  give  himself  influence  at  the  court 
of  France.  Before  I  left  the  northwest  country,  and  after  I  had  visited  the 
Coteau  des  Prairies,  I  found  it  was  distant  at  least  sixty  miles  from  this  spot, 
which  leaves  only  the  bluffs  of  the  river  to  represent  the  mountains  spoken 
of  in  the  manuscript  of  La  Harpe.”* 

Twenty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth,  he  states  that  the 
Minnesota  “  has  made  a  recent  cut-off  and  abandoned  its  old  bed  ;  not  far 
from  this  place  a  large  mass  of  sandstone  is  in  place  in  the  middle  of  the 
river.”  Swan  lake  lies  nearly  five  miles  north  of  this  place. 

FEATHERSTONHAUGH  DESCRIBES  THE  QUARTZYTE  AT  REDSTONE. 

“About  twenty-five  miles  above  Makato  some  red  earth  bluffs  occur 
on  the  left  bank,  with  numerous  boulders.  From  this  point  the  general 
appearance  of  the  soil  and  country  begins  to  vary,  and  announces  a  change 

*The  deposit  containing  the  pigment  he  places  in  that  seam  “which  divides  the  limestone  from  the  sandstone,’- 
when  describing  this  locality  in  the  “Canoe  Voyage.” 


835.  Featherstonhaugh.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


61 


in  the  formations,  and  five  miles  further  some  rocky  bluffs  come  in  on  the 
left  bank,  the  lower  beds  of  which  are  a  brick  red  color  and  of  a  fine  grain. 
On  landing  and  leaving  the  bank  I  found  the  country  covered  with  beds  of 
red  gritstone  of  a  very  hard  quality,  inclined  about  fifteen  degrees.  These 
rocks  are  full  of  potholes,  some  of  them  a  foot  in  diameter  and  eight  inches 
deep,  and  are  as  smooth  as  metal.  The  carboniferous  limestone  formation 
seems  to  terminate  here,  and  to  be  stopped  by  a  conglomerate  resembling 
in  its  mineralogical  characters  the  upper  beds  of  the  Old  Red  sandstone. 
The  river  has  in  old  times  passed  over  these  rocks,  worn  the  pot-holes,  and 
made  them  so  glassy  smooth.” 

He  mentions  the  first  granite  met,  known  as  “  little  rock,”  and  says  that 
no  other  kind  of  rock  was  seen  in  place  during  his  further  progress  toward 
the  northwest. 

THE  COTEAU  DES  PRAIRIES. 

He  estimated  the  Coteau  to  rise  450  feet  above  the  level  of  the  general 
prairie;  the  ascent  being  so  gentle  that  one  is  hardly  aware  of  going  up  hill. 
The  ascent  perhaps  continues  two  and  a  half  miles,  and  is  not  more  than  at 
the  rate  of  160  feet  to  the  mile.  “The  Coteau  itself  is  only  another  upland 
prairie,  somewhat  more  diversified  than  that  I  had  left  behind,  having 
numerous  small  wooded  lakes  on  its  surface,  which  have  a  very  picturesque 
appearance.  From  the  plateau  here  there  is  an  extensive  view  of  the  prairies 
below,  with  the  lakes.  The  prairies  in  every  direction  are  bounded  only  by 
the  horizon;  a  few  occasional  trees  indicate  stagnant  water.  It  is  two  good 
days’  march  from  here  to  the  Shyan,  and  eight  further  to  Pembina,  on  Red 
river  of  lake  Winnipeg,  the  whole  of  it  over  a  prairie  country  with  many 
small  lakes  and  occasional  wood.  The  Nid  de  Tonnere,  or  Nest  of  Thunder, 
a  name  derived  from  some  Indian  tradition,  comprehends  a  small  tract  of 
country  with  a  very  irregular  surface,  where  knolls,  depressions  and  small 
wooded  lakes  prevail.  The  sand-hills  I  have  before  spoken  of  as  lying  in 
front  of  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  extend  into  this  vicinity  and  still  further 
to  the  northwest.  Farther  to  the  northwest  are  several  saline  lakes,  one  of 
which,  named  Saline  lake  on  the  map,  is  about  ten  miles  long.  On  the 
shores  of  these  lakes  crystallized  salt  is  found  in  dry  seasons,  when  the  sur¬ 
face  has  been  much  evaporated;  muriate  of  lime  appears  to  be  mixed  with 


C>2 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Catlin,  1837. 


it.  As  there  is  no  rock  in  place  around  here,  conjectures  only  can  he  formed 
upon  the  nature  of  the  subjacent  beds.  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  The  Coteau 

desr  Prairies,  about  which  very  little  has  been  known,  is  a  very  broad  ridge 
of  land  dividing  the  waters  tributary  to  the  Missouri  from  those  which  dis¬ 
charge  themselves  into  the  St.  Peters  and  into  the  Red  river  of  lake  Win¬ 
nipeg.  Its  general  direction  is  about  north-northwest  and  south-southeast, 
though  in  places  in  appears  to  be  irregular.  To  the  south  it  comes  down  to 
the  sources  of  the  Makato,  whilst  to  the  north  it  terminates  for  a  while  near 
the  sources  of  the  Psee,  where  a  flat  country  comes  in,  intersected  by  the 
Shyan  and  the  Goose  rivers.  Lac  du  Diable  is  in  this  area  with  Turtle  river. 
Here  the  Coteau  rises  again,  to  the  north,  but  it  is  called  the  ‘Pembina  hills’ 
by  the  traders;  these  extend  beyond  the  Assinaboin  river  and  die  away 
about  Flat  lake,  near  seventy  miles  from  lake  Winnipeg.  East  of  the  Pem¬ 
bina  hills  there  are  salt  springs,  and  from  the  somewhat  vague  accounts  I 
received  from  the  Indians,  there  is  coal  in  their  vicinity.  A  very  respectable 
trader  informed  me  he  had  once  picked  up  some  bituminous  coal  on  the 
shore  of  lake  Traverse.” 


GEORGE  CATLIN  AT  THE  RED  PIPESTONE  QUARRY. 


Although  Mr.  Catlin  is  best  known  as  an  Indian  delineator,  he  has  also  left 
a  brief  geological  description  of  the  pipestone  country.*  He  was  the  first 
to  carry  a  sample  of  the  red  pipestone  away  with  him,  and  take  measures 
to  have  it  subjected  to  chemical  examination.  Such  examination  was  made 
by  Dr.  C.  T.  Jackson,  of  Boston,  who  gave  the  substance  the  mineralogical 
name  of  catlinite. f 

Mr.  Catlin  had  plans  laid  for  visiting  the  pipestone  quarry  in  1835, 
when  at  Fort  Snelling,  but  hearing  of  the  expedition  of  Mr.  Featherston- 
haugh,  under  government  directon  to  explore  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  he 
abandoned  his  project.  Subsequently  hearing  that  that  gentleman  did  not 


*  American  Journal  of  Science,  First  Series,  Vol.  38,  p.  138. 

f  In  the  journal  of  the  council  of  the  first  legislative  assembly  of  the  territory  of  Minnesota,  September  11, 1849,  is 
a  letter  of  H.  H.  Siblev.  presenting  a  sample  of  this  stone  to  the  territory  for  use  in  the  Washington  monument  at  the 
city  of  Washington.  Its  size  was  stated  to  be  “  about  two  and  a  half  feet  in  length,  and  a  little  over  one  and  a  half  in 
breadth,  and  two  inches  in  thickness  ”  Mr.  Sibley  objects  to  the  use  of  the  designation  catlinite  since  it  seems  to  have 
been  given  on  the  assumption  that  Mr.  Catlin  was  the  first  white  man  who  had  visited  that  region,  “whereas  it  is  noto¬ 
rious  that  many  whites  had  been  there  and  examined  the  quarry  long  before  he  came  to  the  country  This  designation 
therefore  is  clearly  improper  and  unjust  The  Sioux  term  for  the  stone  is  E-yan-shah  by  which  I  conceive  it  should  be 
known  and  classified.”  ' 

Mr.  Schoolcraft,  in  1854,  published  for  the  first  time  a  report  on  the  Geology  and  Mineralogy  of  the  expedith'ns 
made  by  him  to  the  Mississippi  region.  This  appears  in  the  appendix  to  his  “Summary  Narrative.”  It  purnorts  to 
have  been  written  in  1822,  and  addressed  to  John  C.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War.  In  this  report  the  red  pipestone  of 
Minnesota  is  named  with  the  true  mineral  name  opwagonite,  which  he  says  is  the  Algonquin  word  for  calumet  stone. 
If  this  word  had  been  applied  to  this  mineral  as  early  as  1822,  and  had  been  published  even  as  early  as  1832,  it  would 
antedate  Jackson’s  name  of  catlinite.  But  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  was  published —indeed  the  references  of  Mr. 
Schoolcraft  to  his  own  early  descriptions  of  the  substance  do  not  bear  out  his  implication  of  such  use  of  the  name. 


837,  Catlin.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


63 


visit  the  quarry,  he  carried  out  his  design,  starting  from  New  York,  “a  dis¬ 
tance  of  2,400  miles,  for  which  purpose  I  devoted  eight  months,  traveling 
at  a  considerable  expense,  and  for  a  great  part  of  the  way  with  much 
fatigue  and  exhaustion.” 

Starting  on  horseback  from  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  in  company  with 
“a  young  gentleman  from  England  of  fine  taste  and  education,”  and  under 
the  guidance  of  a  faithful  Indian,  he  followed  the  usual  route  along  the 
south  side  of  the  Minnesota  river  to  the  Traverse  des  Sioux,  where  he 
crossed  the  river;  he  recrossed  it  at  a  point  about  thirty  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  “Terre  Bleue,”  near  the  mouth  of  the  Waraju,  and  thence, 
leaving  the  Minnesota,  pursued  a  course  “a  little  north  of  west,”  steering  for 
the  Coteau  des  Prairies.  He  represents  the  vast  prairie  that  he  passed  over 
as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  countries  in  the  world,  for  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  or  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  It  everywhere 
showed  the  richest  soil,  and  an  abundance  of  good  water  which  flowed  from 
a  thousand  living  springs. 

For  many  miles  in  the  distance  before  us  we  had  the  Coteau  in  view,  which  looked  like  a  blue 
cloud  settling  down  in  the  horizon  ;  and  when  we  had  arrived  at  its  base,  we  were  scarcely  sensible 
of  the  fact,  from  the  graceful  and  almost  imperceptible  swells  with  which  it  commences  its  eleva¬ 
tion  above  the  country  about  it.  Over  these  swells,  or  terraces,  gently  rising  one  above  the  other, 
we  traveled  for  a  distance  of  forty  or  fifty  miles,  when  we  at  length  reached  the  summit,  and  also 
the  pipestone  quarry,  the  object  of  our  campaign.  From  the  base  of  this  majestic  mound  to  its  top, 
a  distance  of  forty  or  fifty  miles,  there  was  not  a  tree  or  a  bush  to  be  seen  in  any  direction.  The 
ground  was  ever.,  where  covered  with  a  green  turf  of  grass,  about  five  or  six  inches  high  ;  and  we 
were  assured  by  our  Indian  guide  that  it  descended  to  the  west,  toward  the  Missouri,  with  a  sim¬ 
ilar  inclination,  and  for  an  equal  distance,  divested  of  everything  save  the  grass  that  grows  and 
the  animals  that  walk  upon  it. 

On  the  very  top  of  this  mound  or  ridge,  we  found  the  far-famed  quarry,  or  fountain,  of  the 
Red  Pipe,  which  is  truly  an  anomaly  in  nature.  The  principal  and  most  striking  feature  of  this 
place  is  a  perpendicular  wall  of  close-grained,  compact  quartz,  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  in 
elevation,  running  nearly  north  and  south,  with  its  face  to  the  west,  exhibiting  a  front  of  nearly 
two  miles  in  length,  when  it  disappears  at  both  ends  by  running  under  the  prairie,  which  becomes 
there  a  little  more  elevated,  and  probably  covers  it  for  many  miles,  both  to  the  north  and  south- 
The  depression  of  the  brow  of  the  ridge  at  this  place  has  been  caused  by  the  wash  of  a  little  stream, 
produced  by  several  springs  on  the  top  of  the  ridge,  a  little  back  from  the  wall,  which  has  gradu¬ 
ally  carried  away  the  superincumbent  earth,  and  having  bared  the  wall  for  a  distance  of  two  miles, 
is  now  left  to  glide  for  some  distance  over  a  perfectly  level  surface  of  quartz  rock,  and  then  to 
leap  from  theiop  of  the  wall  into  a  deep  basin  below,  and  from  thence  to  seek  its  course  to  the 
Missouri,  forming  the  extreme  source  of  a  noted  and  powerful  tributary  called  the  Big  Sioux. 

This  beautiful  wall  is  perfectly  stratified  in  several  distinct  horizontal  layers,  of  light,  gray 
and  rose,  or  flesh-colored,  quartz  ;  and  through  the  greater  part  of  the  way,  both  on  the  front  of 
the  wall,  and  over  acres  of  its  horizontal  surface,  it  is  highly  polished,  or  glazed,  as  if  by  ignition. 

At  the  base  of  this  wall,  and  running  parallel  to  it,  there  is  a  level  prairie  of  half  a  mile  in 
width,  in  any  and  all  parts  of  which  the  Indians  procure’the  red  stone  for  their  pipes  by  digging 
through  the  soil  and  several  slaty  layers  of  the  red  stone  to  the  depth  of  four  or  five  feet.  From 
the  very  numerous  marks  of  ancient  and  modern  digging,  or  excavations,  it  would  appear  that  this 


TIIE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


fCatlin,  1837. 


64 


place  has  been,  for  many  centuries,  resorted  to  for  the  red  stone,  and  from  the  great  number  of 
graves  and  remains  of  ancient  fortifications  in  the  vicinity  (as  well  as  from  their  actual  traditions) 
it  would  seem  that  the  Indian  tribes  have  long  held  this  place  in  high  superstitious  estimation,  and 
also  that  it  has  been  the  resort  of  different  tribes,  who  have  made  their  regular  pilgrimages  here 
to  renew  their  pipes. 

It  is  evident  that  these  people  set  an  extraordinary  value  on  the  red  stone,  independently  of 
the  fact  that  it  is  more  easily  carved  and  makes  better  pipes  than  any  other  stone  ;  hut  whenever 
an  Indian  presents  a  pipe  made  of  it,  lie  gives  it  as  something  from  the  Great  Spirit ;  and  some 
of  the  tribes  have  a  tradition  that  the  red  men  Avere  all  created  from  the  red  stone,  and  that  it 
thereby  is  “  a  part  of  their  flesh.”  Such  was  the  superstition  of  the  Sioux  on  this  subject,  that  we 
had  great  difficulty  in  approaching  it,  being  stopped  by  several  hundred  of  them,  who  ordered  us 
back  and  threatened  us  very  hard,  saying  that  no  white  man  had  ever  been  to  it.  and  that  none 
should  ever  go. 

The  red  pipe-stone  will,  I  suppose,  take  its  place,  amongst  interesting  minerals;  and  the 
“  Coteau  des  Prairies,”  will  become  hereafter  an  important  theme  for  geologists,  not  merely  from 
the  fact  that  it  is  the  only  known  locality  of  that  mineral,  but  from  other  phenomena  relating  to 
it.  The  single  fact  of  such  a  table  of  quartz  resting  in  perfectly  horizontal  strata  on  this  elevated 
plateau  is  of  itself,  as  I  conceive,  a  very  interesting  subject  for  investigation,  and  one  which  calls 
upon  the  scientific  world  for  a  correct  theory  with  regard  to  the  time  when,  and  the  manner  in 
which,  this  formation  was  produced.  That  it  is  a  secondary  and  sedimentary  deposit,  seems 
evident ;  and  that  it  has  withstood  the  force  of  the  diluvial  current,  while  the  great  valley  of  the 
Missouri,  from  this  very  wall  of  rocks  to  the  Kocky  mountains,  has  been  excavated  and  its  debris 
carried  to  the  ocean,  I  confidently  infer  from  the  following  remarkable  fact. 

At  the  base  of  the  wall,  and  within  a  few  rods  of  it,  and  on  the  very  ground  where  the 
Indians  dig  for  the  red  stone,  rests  a  group  of  five  stupendous  boulders  of  gneiss  leaning  against 
each  other,  the  smallest  of  which  is  twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  and  the  largest  twenty-five  feet  in  diam¬ 
eter,  weighing,  unquestionably,  several  hundred  tons.  These  blocks  are  composed  chiefly  of 
feldspar  and  mica,  of  an  exceedingly  coarse  grain  (the  feldspar  often  occurring  in  crystals  of  an 
inch  in  diameter).  The  surface  of  these  boulders  is  in  every  part  covered  with  a  gray  moss,  which 
gives  them  an  extremely  ancient  and  venerable  appearance,  while  their  sides  and  angles  are 
rounded  by  attrition  to  the  shape  and  character  of  most  other  erratic  stones  which  are  found 
throughout  the  country. 

That  these  five  immense  blocks,  of  precisely  the  same  character,  and  differing  materially 
from  all  other  specimens  of  boulders  which  I  have  seen  in  the  great  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Missouri,  should  have  been  hurled  some  hundreds  of  miles  from  their  native  bed,  and  lodged  in 
so  singular  a  group  on  this  elevated  ridge,  is  truly  matter  of  surprise  for  the  scientific  world,  as 
well  as  for  the  poor  Indian,  whose  superstitous  veneration  for  them  is  such  that  not  a  spear  of 
grass  is  broken  or  bent  by  his  feet  within  three  or  four  rods  of  the  group  ;  where  he  stops,  and  in 
humble  supplication,  by  throwing  plugs  of  tobacco  to  them,  solicits  their  permission  (as  the  guar¬ 
dian  spirit  of  the  place)  to  dig  and  carry  away  the  red  stone  for  his  pipes.  The  surface  of  the 
boulders  I  found  in  every  part  entire  and  unscratched  by  anything,  and  even  the  moss  was  every¬ 
where  unbroken,  which  undoubtedly  remains  so  at  this  time,  except  where  I  applied  the  hammer 
to  obtain  some  small  specimens,  which  I  brought  away  with  me.* 

The  fact  alone  that  these  blocks  differ  in  character  from  all  other  specimens  which  I  have 
seen  in  my  travels,  amongst  the  thousands  of  boulders  which  are  strewed  over  the  great  valley  of 
the  Missouri  and  Mississippi,  from  the  Yellowstone  almost  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  raises  in  my  mind 
an  unanswerable  question  as  regards  the  location  of  their  native  bed,  and  the  means  by  which 
they  have  reached  their  isolated  position  like  five  brothers,  leaning  against  and  supporting  each 
other,  without  the  existence  of  another  boulder  of  any  description  within  fifty  miles  of  them. 
There  are  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  boulders  scattered  over  the  prairies,  at  the  base  of 
the  Coteau  on  either  side,  and  so  throughout  the  valley  of  the  St.  PeterYand  Mississippi,  which 
are  also  subjects  of  very  great  interest  and  importance  to  science,  inasmuch  as  they  present  to  the 
Avorld  a  vast  variety  of  characters,  and  each  one,  although  strayed  from  its  original  position,  bears 
incontestible  proof  of  the  character  of  its  native  bed.  The  tract  of  country  lying  betAveen  the 


*  In  a  specimen  with  which  we  are  favored  by  Mr.  Catlin,  the  feldspar  is  in  distinct  crystals,  is  tinted  red,  and 
greatly  abounds;  the  quartz  is  gray  and  white,  and  the  mica  black,  while  the  moss  covers  nearly  half  the  mast. — Eds. 


1837,  Catlin.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


65 


St.  Peter’s  river  and  the  Coteau,  over  which  we  passed,  presents  innumerable  specimens  of  the 
kind,  and  near  the  base  of  the  Coteau,  they  are  strewed  over  the  prairie  in  countless  numbers, 
presenting  almost  an  incredible  variety  of  rich  and  beautiful  colors,  and  undoubtedly  traceable 
(if  they  can  be  traced,)  to  separate  and  distinct  beds.  Amongst  these  beautiful  groups  it  was 
sometimes  a  very  easy  matter  to  sit  on  my  horse  and  count  within  my  sight  some  twenty  or  thirty 
different  varieties  of  quartz  and  granite  in  rounded  boulders,  of  every  hue  and  color,  from  snow 
white  to  intense  red  and  yellow  and  blue,  and  almost  to  a  jet  black,  each  one  well  characterized 
and  evidently  from  a  distinct  quarry.  With  the  beautiful  hues  and  almost  endless  characters  of 
these  blocks,  I  became  completely  surprised  and  charmed,  and  I  resolved  to  procure  specimens  of 
every  variety,  which  I  did  with  success  by  dismounting  from  my  horse  and  breaking  small  bits 
from  them  with  my  hammer,  until  I  had  something  like  a  hundred  different  varieties  containing 
all  the  tints  and  colors  of  the  painter’s  pallet.  These  I  at  length  threw  away,  as  I  had  on  several 
former  occasions  other  minerals  and  fossils,  which  I  had  collected  and  lugged  along  from  day  to 
day,  and  sometimes  from  week  to  week. 

Whether  these  varieties  of  quartz  and  granite  can  all  be  traced  to  their  native  beds,  or 
whether  they  all  have  originals  at  this  time  exposed  above  the  earth’s  surface,  are  generally  matters 
of  much  doubt  in  my  mind.  I  believe  that  the  geologist  may  take  the  varieties  which  he  may  gather 
at  the  base  of  the  Coteau  in  one  hour,  and  travel  the  continent  of  North  America  all  over  without 
being  able  to  put  them  all  in  place  ;  coming  at  last  to  the  unavoidable  conclusion  that  numerous 
chains  or  beds  of  primitive  rocks  have  reared  their  heads  on  this  continent,  the  summits  of  which 
have  been  swept  away  by  the  force  of  the  diluvial  currents;  and  their  fragments  jostled  together 
and  strewed  about,  like  foreigners  in  a  strange  land,  over  the  great  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Missouri,  where  they  will  ever  remain  and  be  gazed  upon  by  the  traveler  as  the  only  remaining 
evidence  of  their  native  ledges,  which  have  again  been  submerged  or  covered  with  diluvial  deposits. 

There  seems  not  to  be,  either  on  the  Coteau,  or  in  the  great  valleys  on  either  side,  so  far  as  I 
have  traveled,  any  slaty  or  other  formation  exposed  above  the  surface,  on  which  grooves  or 
scratches  can  be  seen,  to  establish  the  direction  of  the  diluvial  currents  in  those  regions ;  yet  I 
think  the  fact  is  pretty  clearly  established  by  the  general  shapes  of  the  valleys,  and  the  courses  of 
the  mountain  ridges  which  wall  them  in  on  their  sides. 

The  Coteau  des  Prairies  is  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  St.  Peter’s  and  the  Missouri  rivers; 
its  southern  termination  or  slope  is  about  in  the  latitude  of  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  it 
stands  equi-distant  between  the  two  rivers,  its  general  course  bearing  two  or  three  degrees  west  of 
north,  for  the  distance  of  two  or  three  hundred  miles,  when  it  gradually  slopes  again  to  the  north, 
throwing  out  from  its  base  the  headwaters  and  tributaries  of  the  St.  Peter’s  on  the  east ;  the  Red 
river  and  other  streams  which  empty  into  the  Hudson’s  bay  on  the  north ;  “  La  Riviere  Jacques  ” 
and  several  tributaries  to  the  Missouri  on  the  west ;  and  the  Red  Cedar,  the  Ioway  and  the  Des 
Moines  on  the  south. 

This  wonderful  anomaly  in  nature,  which  is  several  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  varying 
from  fifty  to  an  hundred  in  width,  is  undoubtedly  the  noblest  mound  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  It 
gradually  and  gracefully  rises  on  each  side,  by  swell  after  swell,  without  tree,  or  bush,  or  rocks 
(save  what  are  to  be  seen  at  the  pipestone  quarry),  and  is  everywhere  covered  with  green  grass, 
affording  the  traveler,  from  its  highest  elevations,  the  most  unbounded  and  sublime  views  of— 
nothing  at  all,  save  the  blue  and  boundless  ocean  of  prairies  that  lie  beneath  and  all  around  him, 
vanishing  into  azure  in  the  distance,  without  a  speck  or  spot  to  break  their  softness. 

The  direction  of  this  ridge  clearly  establishes  the  course  of  the  diluvial  current  in  this 
region,  and  the  erratic  stones  which  are  distributed  along  the  base  I  attribute  to  an  origin  several 
hundred  miles  northwest  from  the  Coteau.  I  have  not  myself  traced  the  Coteau  to  its  highest 
points,  nor  to  its  northern  extremity,  but  on  this  subject  I  have  closely  questioned  a  number  of 
travelers  who  have  traversed  every  mile  of  it  with  their  carts,  and  from  thence  to  lake  Winnipec 
on  the  north,  who  uniformly  tell  me  that  there  is  no  range  of  primitive  rocks  to  be  crossed  in 
traveling  the  whole  distance,  which  is  one  connected  and  continuous  prairie. 

The  surface  of  the  sides  and  the  top  of  the  Coteau  is  everywhere  strewed  over  with  granitic 
sand  and  pebbles,  which,  together  with  the  fact  of  five  boulders  resting  at  the  pipestone  quarry, 
shows  clearly  that  every  part  of  the  ridge  has  been  subject  to  the  action  of  these  currents,  which 
could  not  have  run  counter  to  it  without  having  disfigured  or  deranged  its  beautiful  symmetiy. 


66 


TIIE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


fl.ea,  1836. 


The  glazed  or  polished  surface  of  the  quartz  rocks  at  the  pipestone  quarry,  I  consider  a  very 
interesting  subject,  and  one  which  will  hereafter  produce  a  variety  of  theories  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  it  has  been  formed  and  the  causes  which  have  led  to  such  singular  results.  The  quartz  is 
of  a  close  grain  and  exceedingly  hard,  eliciting  the  most  brilliant  sparks  from  steel,  and  in  most 
places  where  it  is  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air,  its  surface  has  a  high  polish,  entirely  beyond  any 
result  which  could  have  been  produced  by  diluvial  action,  being  perfectly  glazed  as  if  by  ignition. 
I  was  not  sufficiently  particular  in  my  examination  to  ascei’tain  whether  any  parts  of  the  surface 
of  these  rocks  under  the  ground,  and  not  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  air,  were  thus  affected, 
which  would  afford  an  important  argument  in  forming  a  correct  theory  with  regard  to  it ;  and  it 
may  also  be  a  fact  of  similar  importance  that  the  polish  does  not  extend  over  the  whole  wall  or 
area,  but  is  distributed  over  it  in  sections,  often  disappearing  suddenly  and  reappearing  again, 
even  where  the  character  and  exposure  of  the  rock  are  the  same  and  unbroken.  In  general,  the 
points  and  parts  most  projecting  and  exposed,  bear  the  highest  polish  ;  which  would  naturally  be 
the  case,  whether  it  was  produced  by  ignition  or  by  the  action  of  the  air  and  sun.  It  would  seem 
almost  an  impossibility  that  the  air  in  passing  these  projections  for  centuries,  could  have  produced 
so  high  a  polish  on  so  hard  a  substance,  and,  in  the  total  absence  of  all  igneous  matter,  it  seems 
equally  unaccountable  that  this  effect  could  have  been  produced  by  fire.  I  have  broken  off  speci¬ 
mens  and  brought  them  home,  which  have  as  high  a  polish  and  luster  on  the  surface  as  a  piece  of 
melted  glass;  and  then  as  these  rocks  have  certainly  been  formed  where  they  now  lie,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  this  strange  effect  has  been  produced  either  by  the  action  of  the  air  or  by  igneous 
influence,  and  if  by  the  latter  cause,  we  can  come  to  no  other  conclusion  than  that  these  results  are 
volcanic  ;*  that  this  wall  has  once  formed  the  side  of  an  extinguished  crater,  and  that  the  pipestone, 
lying  in  horizontal  strata,  was  formed  by  the  lava  which  issued  from  it.  I  am  strongly  inclined  to 
believe,  however,  that  the  former  supposition  is  the  correct  one,  and  that  the  pipestone,  which  dif¬ 
fers  from  all  known  specimens  of  lava  and  steatite,  will  prove  to  be  a  subject  of  great  interest, 
and  worthy  of  careful  analysis. 

The  first  plate-page  is  designed  to  show  at  a  glance  the  history  of  geo- 

% 

graphical  exploration  in  Minnesota,  from  the  time  of  the  earliest  French 
exploration  to  the  date  of  Gatlin’s  visit  to  the  pipestone  quarry.  Plate-page 
No.  2  is  a  reduced  copy  of  Franquelin’s  map  of  1688,  being  the  oldest  known 
map  of  the  region  west  of  lake  Superior. 

LIEUT.  ALBERT  M.  LEA  ON  THE  BLACK  HAWK  PURCHASE. 

Lieut.  A.  M.  Lea’s  map,  accompanying  his  report  on  the  “Black  Hawk 
purchase,”  entitled  “Notes  on  the  Iowa  District  of  Wisconsin  Territory,” 
1886,  shows  the  southern  and  southeastern  counties  of  Minnesota,  and  the 
tributaries  of  the  Mississippi  river  as  far  north  as  the  foot  of  lake  Pepin. 
The  Whitewater  river,  by  this  map,  joins  the  Embarras  river  just  before 
the  latter  reaches  the  Mississippi.  A  tributary  of  the  Whitewater  from 
the  south  is  named  Swallow  creek.  Lake  Albert  Lea  is  there  styled  Fox 
lake.  Fountain  lake  he  styled  Chapeau  lake.  A  branch  of  the  Blue  Earth 
river  is  represented,  and  Council  lake  as  one  of  its  tributaries.  This  is 
probably  Walnut  lake,  of  Faribault  county.  The  head  of  Lime  creek  is 


♦These  smoothed  surfaces  are  due  to  the  polishing  effect  of  sand  and  dust  driven  by  the  high  winds. — N.  H.  W. 


0*  ( 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


x  ‘■''o-  n  _ 3  r  k 


■ 


\ 


*sra^ 


'w**' 


— 


1836,  Nicollet.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


G7 


Trail  lake,  with  a  smaller  one  flowing  into  it  from  the  northwest.  North¬ 
west  from  Chapeau  lake,  and  between  its  two  affluents  from  the  northwest 
is  “Paradise  Prairie.”  A  “trading  house”  is  represented  at  Red  Wing’s 
village,  at  the  foot  of  lake  Pepin.  Lieut.  Lea’s  brief  general  notes  pertain 
wholly  to  the  region  south  of  Minnesota,  though  his  return  trail  passes 
through  our  southern  counties. 

JEAN  N.  NICOLLET. 

From  1886  to  1848,  Mr.  Jean  N.  Nicollet  prosecuted  the  geographical 
exploration  of  the  upper  Mississippi.  He  died  while  his  report,  intended  to 
show  the  result  of  his  labors,  was  undergoing  print  and  revision.*  It  is 
accompanied  by  a  map,  which,  up  to  that  time,  was  the  most  complete  and 
correct  of  the  upper  Mississippi  region.  It  covered  not  only  the  whole  ol 
Minnesota  hut  also  Iowa,  about  one-lialf  of  Missouri  and  much  of  Dakota, 
Wisconsin  and  Illinois.  It  has  been  pronounced  by  high  authority!  “one  of 
the  greatest  contributions  ever  made  to  American  geography.”  That  part 
of  his  map  covering  Minnesota,  where  the  greater  part  of  his  time  was  spent, 
and  where  he  brought  out  the  most  interesting  and  matured  results,  is 
reproduced  in  plate-page  No.  7.  He  not  only  expresses  the  names  ol 
streams  and  lakes,  but  gives  the  first  representation  of  the  striking  topo- 
graphical  features  of  the  western  and  northern  portions  of  the  state.  Without 
any  just  idea  of  the  origin  of  the  immense  “erratic  deposite”  which  charac¬ 
terizes  the  western  and  northern  part  of  the  state,  he  has,  with  tolerable 
correctness,  delineated  the  course  of  a  series  of  knolls  and  hills,  made  up  of 
drift,  under  the  names,  Plateau  clu  Coteau  des  Prairies ,  Cotea u  du  Grand  Bois, 
Hi  (/id  of  Land,  Missabay  Hights ,  which  extend  through  Minnesota  and  mark 
the  continuous  limit  of  the  ice-slieet  at  the  time  of  the  last  glacial  epoch. 
He  aims  to  locate  correctly,  by  astronomical  observations,  the  numerous 
streams  and  lakes,  and  the  main  geographical  features  of  the  state,  filling 
in  by  eye-sketching,  and  by  pacing,  the  intermediate  objects.  His  methods, 
allowing  for  the  imperfection  of  his  appliances,  and  the  meagerness  of  his 
outfit  and  supplies,  were  established  on  the  same  principles  as  the  most 
approved  geodetic  surveys  of  the  present  day.  It  would,  perhaps,  have  been 

*  Report  intended  to  illustrate  a  Map  of  the  Hydrographical  Basin  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  river ,  made  by  J.  N.  Nicollet, 
while  in  employ  under  the  Bureau  of  the  Corps  of  Topographical  Engineers.  Feb.  16,  1*41,  Washington.  Senate  docu¬ 
ment  No.  237.  26th  Congress,  2d  Session. 

+Gen.  G.  K.  Warren,  Pac.  R.  R.  Reports.  Vol.  XI.,  p.  41. 


68 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Nicollet,  1839. 


well  if  the  methods  of  Nicollet  could  have  been  adhered  to  in  the  further 
surveying  and  mapping  of  the  western  territories.  Their  geography  would 
have  been  less  rapidly  developed,  but  it  would  have  been  done  more  cor¬ 
rectly.  Nicollet’s  map  embraces  a  multitude  of  names,  including  many  new 
ones,  which  he  applied  to  lakes  and  streams.  These  are  not  represented  on 
the  general  historical  map,  hut  may  be  seen  on  referring  to  Nicollet’s  map 
as  reproduced. 

Mr.  Nicollet  makes  hut  few  references  to  the  geology  and  natural 
history  of  the  region  he  surveyed,  his  main  purpose  being  geographical 
information.  Lieut.  J.  C.  Fremont  was  his  principal  aid.  He  also  employed 
Mr.  Charles  Geyer  as  a  practical  botanist,  whose  collections  were  named  by 
Prof.  John  Torrey.  His  fossils  were  named  by  himself,  or  by  the  assistance 
of  Yanuxem  and  Conrad  of  the  New  York  Geological  Survey,  then  lately 
instituted. 

MR.  NICOLLET  ON  THE  COTEAU  DES  PRAIRIES. 


The  basin  of  the  upper  Mississippi  is  separated  in  a  great  part  of  its  extent  from  that  of  the 
Missouri,  by  an  elevated  plain,  the  appearance  of  which,  seen  from  the  plain  of  the  St.  Peter’s,  or 
that  of  the  river  Jacques,  looming  as  it  were  a  distant  shore ,  has  suggested  for  it  the  name  of  Coteau 
des  Prairies.  Its  more  appropriate  designation  would  be  that  of  plateau ,  which  means  something 
more  than  is  conveyed  to  the  mind  by  the  expression,  a  plain. 

Its  northern  extremity  is  in  latitude  46°,  extending  to  43° ;  after  which  it  loses  its  distinctive 
elevation  above  the  surrounding  plains,  and  passes  into  rolling  prairies.  Its  length  is  about  two 
hundred  miles,  and  its  general  direction  N.  N.  W.and  S.  S.  E.  Its  northern  termination,  (called 
Tele  du  Coteau ,  in  consequence  of  its  peculiar  configuration,)  is  not  more  than  fifteen  to  twenty 
miles  across ;  its  elevation  above  the  level  of  the  Big  Stone  lake  is  890  feet,  and  above  the  ocean 
1916  feet.  Starting  from  this  extremity  (that  is,  the  head  of  the  Coteau,)  the  surface  of  the  plateau 
is  undulating,  forming  many  dividing  ridges  which  separate  the  waters  flowing  into  the  St.  Peter’s 
and  the  Mississippi  from  those  of  the  Missouri. 

Under  the  forty-fourth  degree  of  latitude,  the  breadth  of  the  Coteau  is  about  forty  miles, 
and  its  mean  elevation  is  here  reduced  to  1450  feet  above  the  sea.  Within  this  space  its  two  slopes 
are  rather  abrupt,  crowned  with  verdure  and  scolloped  by  deep  ravines  thickly  shaded  with 
bushes,  forming  the  beds  of  rivulets  that  water  the  subjacent  plains. 

The  Coteau  itself  is  isolated,  in  the  midst  of  boundless  and  fertile  prairies,  extending  to  the 
west,  to  the  north,  and  into  the  valley  of  the  St.  Peter’s. 

The  plain  at  its  northern  extremity  is  a  most  beautiful  tract  of  land,  diversified  by  hills, 
dales,  woodlands  and  lakes,  the  last  abounding  in  fish.  This  region  of  country  is  probably  the 
most  elevated  between  the  gulf  of  Mexico  and  Hudson’s  bay.  From  its  summit,  proceeding  from 
its  western  to  its  eastern  limits,  grand  views  are  afforded.  'At  its  eastern  border,  particularly, 
the  prospect  is  magnificent  beyond  description,  extending  over  the  immense  green  turf  that  forms 
the  basin  of  the  Bed  river  of  the  North,  the  forest-capped  summits  of  the  hauteurs  des  terres  that 
surround  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  the  granitic  valley  of  the  upper  St.  Peter’s,  and  the 
depressions  in  which  are  lake  Traverse  and  the  Big  Stone  lake.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in 
future  times  this  region  will  be  the  summer  resort  of  the  wealthy  of  the  land.  *  * 

The  other  portions  of  the  Coteau,  ascending  from  the  lower  latitudes,  present  pretty  much 
the  same  characters.  This  difference,  however,  is  remarkable :  that  the  woodlands  become 


1838,  Nicollet.  J 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


G9 


scarcer,  whilst  the  open  prairies  increase  in  extent.  It  is  very  rarely  only  that  groves  are  met 
with,  to  which  the  Ndakotalis ,  or  Sioux,  have  given  the  name  of  Tchan  Wit  ah,  or  Wood  islands. 
When  these  groves  are  surrounded  by  water  they  assume  some  resemblance  to  oases,  and  hence  I 
have  assigned  this  name  to  some  of  them  on  my  map. 

These  oases,  possessed  of  a  good  soil,  well  wooded,  offering  an  abundance  of  game,  and 
waters  teeming  with  fish,  offer  inducements  for  permanent  settlements.  In  this  region  there  are 
frequent  instances  of  a  marsh,  or  lake,  furnishing  waters  to  different  hydrographical  basins — a 
fact  observed  by  the  Sioux,  and  which  they  express,  in  the  compound  word  of  their  dialect,  mini 
akipan  kaduza ;  from  mini ,  water,  akipan ,  division,  share,  and  kaduza ,  to  flow,  to  run  out. 

There  are,  besides,  other  fine  lakes,  that  would  furnish,  on  their  borders,  eligible  sites  for 
such  villages  as  were  formerly  occupied  by  some  of  the  Ndakotah  tribes,  previous  to  the  war  of 
extermination  waged  against  them  by  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians.  Among  them  may  be  numbered 
the  series  of  lakes  designated  as  the  Shetek,  Benton,  Titan-kahi,  Poinsett,  Abert,  Spirit,  and 
Tizaptonan  lakes. 

Whatever  people  may  fix  their  abode  in  this  region  must,  necessarily,  become  agriculturists 
and  shepherds,  drawing  all  their  resources  from  the  soil.  They  must  not  only  raise  the  usual 
agricultural  products  for  feeding,  as  is  now  but  too  generally  done  in  some  parts  of  the  west,  but 
they  will  have  to  turn  their  attention  to  other  rural  occupations,  such  as  tending  sheep  for  their 
wool;  which  would  greatly  add  to  their  resources,  as  well  as  finally  bring  about  a  more 
extended  application  of  the  industrial  arts  among  them.  *****  The  plateau 
of  the  Coteau  des  Prairies  is  composed  in  a  great  measure,  of  the  materials  belonging  to  what  I 
have  named  the  erratic  deposite,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  nature  of  the  soils,  the  physiognomy  of 
the  ridges  and  hillocks  that  diversify  its  surface,  the  deep  ravines  by  which  it  is  flanked,  and  the 
innumerable  erratic  blocks  strewed  over  the  borders  of  its  lakes. 

We  have  no  data  by  which  to  determine  the  inferior  limits  of  this  deposite  ;  still  there  is 
reason  to  think  that  it  rests  upon  such  primary  rocks  as  show  themselves  along  the  line  of  rapids 
of  the  upper  St.  Peter’s,  consisting  of  granite,  sienite  and  other  metamorphic  rocks.  Nevertheless, 
over  the  vast  extent  of  this  plateau,  there  is,  apparently,  but  one  spot  where  the  subjacent  rock 
makes  its  appearance,  and  this  is  at  the  Indian  red  pipestone  quarry,  so-called. 

NICOLLET  AT  THE  RED  PIPESTONE  QUARRY. 

The  Indians  of  all  the  surrounding  nations  make  a  regular  annual  pilgrimage  to  it  unless 
prevented  by  their  wars  or  dissensions.  The  quarry  is  on  the  lands  of  the  Sissiton  tribe  of  Sioux. 

The  idea  of  the  young  Indians,  who  are  very  fond  of  the  marvellous,  is,  that  it  has  been 
opened  by  the  Great  Spirit,  and  that  whenever  it  is  visited  by  them,  they  are  saluted  by  lightning 
and  thunder.  We  may  cite  as  a  coincidence,  our  own  experience  in  confirmation  of  this  tradition. 
Short  of  half  a  mile  from  the  valley,  we  were  met  by  a  severe  thunder-storm,  during  which  the 
wind  blew  with  so  much  force  as  to  threaten  the  overthrowing  of  Mr.  Renville’s  wagon ;  and  we 
were  obliged  to  stop  for  a  few  minutes  during  the  short  descent  into  the  valley. 

If  this  mode  of  reception  was  at  first  to  be  interpreted  as  an  indication  of  anger  on  the  part 
of  the  Great  Spirit  for  our  intrusion,  we  may  add  that  he  was  soon  reconciled  to  our  presence  ;  for 
the  sun  soon  after  made  his  appearance,  drying  both  the  valley  and  our  baggage.  The  rest  of  the 
day  was  spent  in  pitching  our  tent  on  the  supposed  consecrated  ground,  and  in  admiring  the 
beautiful  effects  of  lights  and  shadows  produced  by  the  western  sun  as  it  illumined  the  several 
parts  of  the  bluff,  composed  of  red  rock  of  different  shades,  extending  a  league  in  length,  and 
presenting  the  appearance  of  the  ruins  of  some  ancient  city  built  of  marble  and  porphyry.  The 
night  was  calm  and  temperate,  of  which  we  took  advantage  to  make  astronomical  observations. 
********** 

The  valley  of  the  “  Red  Pipestone”  extends  from  N.  N.  W.  to  S.  S.  E.  in  the  form  of  an  ellipsis, 
being  about  three  miles  in  length,  with  a  breadth  at  its  smaller  axis  of  half  a  mile.  It  is  cradle¬ 
shaped,  and  its  slope  to  the  east  is  a  smooth  sward,  without  trees  and  without  rocks.  Its  slope  to 
the  west  is  rugged,  presenting  a  surface  of  rocks  throughout  its  whole  length,  that  form  a  very 
picturesque  appearance,  and  would  deserve  a  special  description  if  this  were  the  place  to  do  so. 
But  I  am  now  more  particularly  interested  in  defining  its  geological  features. 


70 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Nicollet,  1838. 


The  principal  rock  that  strikes  the  attention  of  the  observer  in  this  remarkable  inland  bluff, 
is  an  indurated  (metamorphic)  sandrock,  or  quarteyte,  the  red  color  of  which  diminishes  in 
intensity  from  the  base  to  the  summit.  It  is  distinctly  stratified;  the  upper  beds  being  very  much 
weather-worn  and  disintegrated  into  large  and  small  cubic  fragments. 

The  whole  thickness  of  this  quartzyte,  which  immediately  overlies  the  bed  of  the  red  pipe- 
stone  is  261  feet.  Its  strata  appear  to  have  a  small  dip  to  the  N.  E.  The  floor  of  the  valley, 
which  is  higher  than  the  red  pipestone,  is  formed  by  the  inferior  strata  of  the  quartzyte,  and  in 
the  spring  of  the  year  is  most  generally  under  water;  the  action  of  which  upon  the  rock  is  apparent 
in  the  great  quantity  of  fragments  strewed  over  the  valley,  so  as  to  render  it  uncomfortable  to 
walk  over  them.  The  creek  by  which  the  valley  is  drained,  feeds  in  its  course  three  distinct  small 
basins  at  different  elevations,  that  penetrate  down  as  far  as  the  red  pipestone. 

This  red  pipestone,  not  more  interesting  to  the  Indian  than  it  is  to  the  man  of  science,  by  its 
unique  character,  deserves  a  particular  description.  In  the  quarry  of  it  which  I  had  opened,  the 
thickness  of  the  bed  is  one  foot  and  a  half ;  the  upper  portion  of  which  separates  in  thin  slabs, 
whilst  the  lower  onoe  are  more  compact.  As  a  mineralogical  species  it  may  be  described  as  fol¬ 
lows:  compact;  structure  slaty;  receiving  a  dull  polish;  having  a  red  streak;  color  blood-red, 
with  dots  of  a  fainter  shade  of  the  same  color  ;  fracture  rough  ;  sectile ;  feel  somewhat  greasy; 
hardness  not  yielding  to  the  nail ;  not  scratched  by  selenite,  but  easily  by  calcareous  spar ;  specific 
gravity  2.90.  The  acids  have  no  action  upon  it ;  before  the  blowpipe  it  is  infusible  per  se,  but 
with  borax  gives  a  green  glass. 

According  to  Prof.  Jackson,  of  Boston,  who  has  analyzed  and  applied  to  it  the  name  of 


catlinite,  after  Mr.  Catlin,  it  is  composed  of — 

Water .  8.4 

Silica .  48.2 

Alumina . 28.2 

Magnesia . 6.0 

Peroxide  of  iron . 5.0 

Oxide  of  Manganese .  0.6 

Carbonate  of  lime . 2.6 

Loss  (probably  magnesia) .  1.0 


Total .  100.0 


But  Prof.  Jackson  assimilates  it  to  the  agalmatolite,  from  which  it  differs,  however,  very 
materially  by  its  general  aspect,  its  conduct  before  the  blowpipe,  and  its  total  insolubility  in  sul¬ 
phuric  acid.*  ' 

Another  feature  of  the  Bed  Pipestone  valley  is  the  occurrence  of  granitic  boulders  of  larger 
size  than  any  I  had  previously  met.  One  of  these  measured  about  sixty  feet  in  circumference, 
and  was  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  thick.  They  are  strewed  over  the  valley,  in  which  it  is  remark¬ 
able  that  there  are  no  pebbles. 

The  name  of  Mr.  Nicollet,  and  the  initials  of  his  companions,  are  hand¬ 
somely  cut  in  the  hard  quartzyte  at  the  top  of  the  ledge  near  the  Leaping 
Rock,  a  little  north  of  where  the  creek  passes  over  the  brow  of  the  escarp¬ 
ment,  as  here  represented  and  arranged,  viz  : 


J.  N.  Nicollet. 

C.  F. 

2-  m 

c  X 

C.  A.  G. 

~o 
-*  0 

J.  L. 

oj  2: 

J.  E.  F. 

00  =f : 

■  0 

J.  R. 

3 

1  he  red  pipestone  is  also  found  on  the  upper  part  of  the  Mishkwagokag,  or  Red  Cedar  river,  which  falls  into  the 
Chippeway  river  that  empties  itself  into  the  Mississippi  river  below  lake  Pepin. 


1838,  Nicollet.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


71 


THE  UNDINE  REGION. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  give  a  short  account  of  some  of  the  regions  of  country  adjoining  the 
Coteau  des  Prairies,  omitting  those  which  have  already  found  a  place  in  the  geography  of  the 
United  States,  so  as  to  be  more  particular  concerning  such  as  are  but  little  or  not  at  all  known. 
Among  these,  that  which  appeared  to  me  the  most  favorable,  is  the  one  watered  by  the  bold  Man¬ 
kato  or  Blue  Earth  river,  and  to  which  I  have  given  the  name  of  Undine  reqion. 

The  great  number  of  the  navigable  tributaries  of  the  Mankato,  spreading  themselves  out  in 
the  shape  of  a  fan ;  the  group  of  lakes  surrounded  by  well- wooded  hills ;  some  wide-spreading 
prairies  with  fertile  soil ;  others  apparently  less  favored,  but  open  to  improvement ; — the  whole 
together  bestow  upon  this  region  a  most  picturesque  appearance.  It  was  while  on  a  visit  to  lakes 
Okamanpidan  and  Tchanhassan  ( Little  Heron  and  Maplewood  lakes),  that  ii  occurred  tome  to  give 
it  the  name  that  I  have  adopted,  derived  from  that  of  an  interesting  and  romantic  German  tale, 
the  heroine  of  which  belonged  to  the  extensive  race  of  water-spirits  living  in  the  brooks  and  rivers 
and  lakes,  whose  father  was  a  mighty  prince.  She  was,  moreover,  the  niece  of  a  great  brook  (the 
Mankato)  who  lived  in  the  midst  of  forests,  and  was  beloved  by  all  the  many  great  streams  of  the 
surrounding  country,  etc.,  etc. 

I  do  not  know  why  I  fancied  an  analogy  between  the  ideal  country  described  in  the  tale,  and 
that  of  the  one  before  me  ;  but  I  involuntarily,  as  it  were,  adopted  the  name.* 

The  limit  of  this  region  is  the  1ST.  E.  prong  of  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  which  takes  in  the 
sources  of  the  Mankato  and  of  the  La  Hontan  rivers,  subdividing  itself  into  undulations  whence 
proceed  the  waters  of  the  Wazioju,  or  Pine  river,  Miniska ,  or  White  Water  river,  Okali ,  or  Heron 
run,  &c.,  &c.,  all  emptying  into  the  Mississippi. 

The  Mankato  becomes  navigable  with  boats  within  a  few  miles  of  its  sources.  It  is  deep,  with 
a  moderate  current  along  a  great  portion  of  its  course,  but  becomes  very  rapid  on  its  approach  to 
the  St.  Peter’s.  Its  bed  is  narrowly  walled  up  by  banks  rising  to  an  elevation  of  from  sixty  to 
eighty  feet,  and  reaching  up  to  the  uplands  through  which  the  river  flows.  These  banks  are 
frequently  cliffs,  or  vertical  escarpments,  such  as  the  one  called  by  the  Sioux  Manya  kichaksa,  or 
cleft  elevation.  The  breadth  of  the  river  is  pretty  uniformly  from  80  to  120  feet  wide ;  and 
the  average  breadth  of  the  valley  through  which  it  flows  scarcely  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  latter, 
as  well  as  the  high  grounds,  are  well- wooded ;  the  timber  beginning  to  spread  out  011  both  shores, 
especially  since  they  have  become  less  frequented  by  the  Sioux  hunters,  and  are  not  so  often  flred. 
But  the  crossings  of  the  river  are  hard  to  find,  requiring  to  be  pointed  out  by  an  experienced 
guide.  I  have  laid  down  on  the  map  my  route  over  the  Undine  region,  and  the  geographical  posi¬ 
tions  of  the  crossing  places  will  be  fonnd  in  the  table  at  the  end  of  the  report. 

On  the  left  bank  of  the  Mankato,  six  miles  from  its  mouth,  in  a  rocky  bluff  composed  of 
sandstone  and  limestone,  are  found  cavitives  in  which  the  famed  blue  or  green  earth,  used  by  the 
Sioux  as  their  principal  pigment,  is  obtained.  This  material  is  nearly  exhausted,  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  this  is  the  spot  where  a  Mr.  Le  Sueur  (who  is  mentioned  in  the  narrative  of  Major  Long’s 
Second  Expedition,  as  also  by  Mr.  Featherstonhaugh)  could,  in  his  third  voyage  during  the  year 
1700,  have  collected  his  four  thousand  pounds  of  copper  earth  sent  by  him  to  France.  I  have 
reason  to  believe  that  Le  Sueur’s  location  is  on  the  river  to  which  I  have  affixed  his  name,  and 
which  empties  into  the  Mankato  three  quarters  of  a  league  above  Fort  L’Huillier,  built  by  him, 
and  where  he  spent  a  winter. 

This  location  corresponds  precisely  with  that  given  by  Charlevoix,  while  it  is  totally  inap¬ 
plicable  to  the  former.  Here  the  blue  earth  is  abundant  in  the  steep  and  elevated  hills  at  the 
mouth  of  this  river,  which  hills  form  a  broken  country  on  the  right  side  of  the  Mankato.  Mr. 
Fremont  and  myself  have  verified  this  fact — he  during  his  visit  to  Le  Sueur  river;  and  I  upon 
the  locality  designated  by  Mr.  Featherstonhaugh,  where  the  Ndakotahs  formerly  assembled  in 


*  The  beautiful  poetic  conceit  of  Nicollet  in  applying  the  name  of  Undine  to  this  region  should  be  perpetuated. 
Undine  was  a  water-sprite,  that  had  control  of  the  waters  so  as  to  accomplish  her  designs.  Her  uncle,  Kuhleborn,  who 
possessed  a  great  stream,  was  influential  over  many,  and  caused  sudden  Hoods  to  stop  travel,  and  to  intercept  fugitives. 
His  passage  from  province  to  province  was  often  subterranean,  and  brought  him  into  numerous  lakes,  He  made  his 
realm  obedient  to  Undine,  and  aided  her  ambitious  design  to  captivate  a  rich  and  noble  knight.  The  story  is  one  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  written  by  Fouque,  The  multiplicity  of  streams,  springs,  and  lakes  in  this  region,  with  occasional 
subterranean  channels  (see  Geology  of  Blue  Earth  County ,)  greatly  in  contrast  with  the  monotonous,  treeless  prairies  on 
either  side,  make  it  an  image  of  the  domain  of  Kuhleborn,  and  suggest  that  it  is  the  habitation  of  Undine,  and  her 
associate  water-nymphs.  The  valleys,  and  some  of  the  uplands,  in  this  region,  are  wooded  and  the  streams  sometimes 
run  in  deep,  rock-bound  gorges. 


72 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Nicollet,  1838. 


great  numbers  to  collect  it,  but  to  which  they  now  seldom  resort,  as  it  is  now  comparatively 
scarce — at  least  so  I  was  told  by  Sleepy  Eye ,  the  chief  of  the  Sissitons,  who  accompanied  me 
during  this  excursion. 

As  I  did  in  the  case  of  the  red  pipestone  described  above,  I  will  state  the  mineralogical 
character  of  the  Indian  blue  earth  or  clay.  It  is  massive,  somewhat  plastic,  emits  an  argillaceous 
odor  when  breathed  upon ;  color  bluish  green ;  easily  scratched  with  the  nail,  when  formed  into 
hardened  balls.  The  acids  have  no  action  upon  it ;  it  is  infusible  before  the  blowpipe,  but  loses 
its  color  and  becomes  brown.  This  color  is  due  to  the  peroxide  of  iron  which  it  contains  in  the 
proportion  of  ten  per  cent,  at  least.  It  contains  no  potash  and  but  a  small  proportion  of  lime. 
It  is  a  very  different  mineral  from  that  described  by  Dr.  Thompson  under  the  name  of  pipe-clay. 

Next  comes  the  region  of  country  between  the  St.  Peter’s  and  the  upper  portions  of  La 
Hontan  and  Le  Sueur  rivers,  above  referred  to.  This  is  an  extensive  district,  thickly  set  in 
forests  amidst  which  there  are  reported  to  be  many  large  lakes.  The  French  give  to  the  forests 
the  name  of  Bois-francs,  or  Bois-forts ,  whenever  they  are  not  composed  principally  of  trees 
belonging  to  the  family  of  the  Coniferce. 

To  complete  an  account  of  the  physical  geography  of  the  country,  including  the  Undine 
region  with  the  last  mentioned,  I  will  now  enumerate  some  of  the  most  important  trees,  shrubs 
and  plants  that  characterize  its  sylva  and  flora. 

The  whole  country  embraced  by  the  lower  St.  Peter’s  and  the  Undine  region  exceeds  any 
land  of  the  Mississippi  above  Wisconsin  river,  as  well  in  the  quality  and  quantity  of  its  timber 
as  the  fertility  of  its  soil.  The  forests  of  the  valley  on  the  right  bank  are  connected  by  groves  and 
small  wooded  streams  of  the  adjoining  prairies  with  the  forest  called  Bois  francs,  and  they  extend 
so  far  southwest  as  to  include  the  lands  of  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mankato  river. 

The  forest  trees,  as  reported  to  me  by  Mr.  Geyer,  are  chiefly  soft  maple,  American  and  red 
elm,  black  walnut,  the  nettle  tree,  basswood,  red  and  white  ash ;  the  undergrowth,  the  common 
hawthorn,  prickly  ash,  high  cranberry,  red  root,  gray  dogwood,  fox  grapes,  horse-briar  and  moon- 
seed.  Among  the  herbs  are  the  wild  and  bristly  sarsaparilla,  Indian  turnip,  the  gay  orchis  and 
others;  rushes  and  the  flowering  ferns  are  abundant  along  the  low  banks  of  the  rivers.  The 
valley  prairies  are  rich  in  pasture  grasses  and  leguminous  and  orcliideous  plants,  such  as  the 
yellow  lady’s  slipper,  American  and  tufted  vetch,  and  others.  The  lowest  parts  near  the  borders 
of  the  woods,  and  those  subject  to  inundations,  are  filled  with  the  high  weeds  common  to  such 

r 

places— as  the  ragged  cup,  tall  thistle,  great  bitterweed,  the  tuberous  sunflower,  and  others. 

Swamps  are  frequent,  and  some  of  them  contain  extensive  tracts  of  tamarack  pines.  Cedars 
grow,  intermixed  with  red  birch,  on  the  rocky  declivities  of  the  lower  Mankato  river.  Red  and 
bur  oak,  with  hazel,  red-root,  peter’s- wort,  and  the  wild  rose,  are  the  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  uplands. 
There  are,  besides,  thickets  of  the  poplar  birch  that  are  frequent  in  the  elevated  prairies  near  the 
river.  The  prairies  are  very  luxuriant,  and  generally  somewhat  level  and  depressed ;  the  gum- 
plant  and  button  snake-root  are  their  most  abundant  and  conspicuous  herbs. 

To  give  animation  to  the  Undine  region,  and  to  the  valley  of  the  St.  Peter’s,  as  well  as  to 
develop  trade  between  the  British  possessions,  the  territory  of  Iowa  and  the  state  of  Missouri,  it 
would  be  necessary  for  government  to  open  routes  of  communication  between  St.  Peter’s  and  the 
Travese  des  Sioux,  through  the  Bois  francs  mentioned  above ;  between  St.  Peter’s  and  the  Prairie 
du  Chien ;  between  Dubuque  and  the  Lac-qui-parle  ;  through  the  Undine  region,  with  a  fork  in 
the  direction  of  the  Traverse  des  Sioux,  passing  by  Fremont*  and  Okoman\  lakes,  (which  latter 
is  at  the  headwaters  of  La  Hontan  river,)  and  in  other  directions  that  would  naturally  suggest 
themselves. 

The  geological  formation  that  characterizes  the  Undine  region  as  well  as  the  St.  Peter’s, 
as  far  nearly  as  the  mouth  of  the  Waraju,  is  the  same  as  that  of  Fort  Snelling  which  I  shall 
describe  further  on.  It  consists  mainly  in  a  thick  stratum  of  friable  sandstone  as  the  basis, 
succeeded  by  a  deposite  of  limestone,  which  is  sometimes  magnesian,  and  occasionally  contains 
fossils ;  the  whole  covered  by  what  I  have  called  the  erratic  deposite. 

The  sandstone  forms  the  Little  rapids  of  the  St.  Peter’s,  and,  reappearing  at  the  Traverse 
des  Sioux,  determines  other  rapids  that  are  observed  in  a  beautiful  streamj  two  miles  northeast  of 


*  Probably  Clear  Lake,  near  Waseca, 
f  Lake  Elysian. 

X  Moon  creek,  now  caUed  Cherry  ereek,  at  Ottawa. 


1838,  Nicollet.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


73 


the  trading-post  in  this  place.  .  At  other  intermediate  localities  the  sandstone  and  limestone  both 
appear ;  but  further  on  the  limestone  disappears  altogether ;  because  it  goes  thinning  out  as  the 
western  limits  of  the  formation  are  approached.  This  may  be  observed  near  the  Waraju,  and 
toward  the  upper  parts  of  the  Mankato,  where  the  limestone,  and  indeed  the  sandstone,  are 
replaced  by  beds  of  clay  or  of  calcareous  marl. 

In  the  argillaceous  deposits  last  referred  to  there  are  red  ochre,  other  ferruginous  minerals, 
and  lignites.  Between  the  sandstone  and  the  limestone  there  is  a  bed  of  whitish  clay,  enclosing 
nodules  of  the  blue  earth ;  and  sometimes,  between  the  strata  of  limestone,  bands  of  argillaceous 
iron  ore,  intermixed  with  siliceous  and  calcareous  incrustions. 

The  account  given  above  applies  equally  to  the  rocky  cliffs  on  the  upper  part  of  the  La 
Hontan  river,  and  especially  to  the  interesting  locality*  at  the  entrance  of  its  south  fork,  which  is 
four  miles  to  the  east  of  lake  Ti-tanka-tanninan .f 

*  LA  HONTAN’S  RIVIERE  LONGUE. 

Those  who  have  read  the  travels  of  Baron  La  Hontan,  in  which  he  mentions  his  discovery 
of  a  certain  long  river  coming  from  the  west,  and  falling  into  the  Mississippi,  may,  perhaps,  think 
that,  by  giving  his  name  to  a  river  upon  my  map,  I  meant  to  clear  up  the  doubt  which  has  existed, 
for  more  than  150  years,  as  regards  the  veracity  of  this  officer. 

Such  was  not  originally  my  intention  ;  but  I  am  forced  into  it  after  terminating  my  explora¬ 
tion  of  the  Undine  region.  Having  afterward  procured  a  copy  of  La  Hontan’s  book,  in  which 
there  is  a  roughly  made  map  of  his  Long  river,  I  was  struck  with  the  resemblance  of  its  course,  as 
laid  down,  with  that  of  Cannon  river ;  which  I  had  previously  sketched  in  my  own  field-book. 
I  soon  convinced  myself  that  the  principal  statements  of  the  Baron,  in  reference  to  the  country, 
and  the  few  details  he  gives  of  the  physical  character  of  the  river,  coincided  remarkably  with  what 
I  had  laid  down  as  belonging  to  the  Cannon  river. 

Thus  the  lakes  and  swamps  corresponded  ;  traces  of  Indian  villages  mentioned  by  him  might 
be  found  in  the  growth  of  a  certain  grass  that  propagates  itself  around  all  old  Indian  settlements. 
Some  of  the  names  which  he  assigns  to  them  may  be  referred  to  dialects  of  the  Sioux  tongue ; 
and  even  his  account  of  the  feasting  of  his  men  on  the  large  number  of  the  American  hare  which 
he  found  there,  is  substantiated  by  the  voyageurs. 

His  account,  too,  of  the  mouth  of  the  river,  is  particularly  accurate.  The  most  scrupulous 
geographer,  describing  it  at  this  time,  would  have  but  little  to  alter.  As  this  locality  is  in  the 
way  of  travelers  going  to  St.  Peter’s,  I  will  quote  from  the  text  of  La  Hontan,  so  that  they  may 
judge  of  the  truth  of  my  assertion.  “  We  entered,”  he  says,  “  the  mouth  of  this  long  river,  which 
is  a  sort  of  large  lake  filled  with  canebrakes  (/ones);  in  the  midst  of  which  we  discovered  a  narrow 
channel,  which  we  followed  up,”  &c. 

I  do  not  pretend,  however,  to  justify  his  gross  exaggeration  of  the  length  of  the  river;  of 
the  numerous  population  on  its  banks ;  and  his  pretended  information  respecting  the  nations 
inhabiting  the  more  remote  regions.  This  sort  of  exaggeration  seems  to  have  belonged  to  the 
period  ;  but  there  is  apparently  a  more  serious  objection  to  be  made  to  his  narrative — namely, 
that  it  appears,  from  his  text,  he  traveled  during  the  months  of  November  and  December ;  at 
which  period  of  the  year  the  rivers  in  these  parts  are  mostly  frozen  over,  and  the  voyage  there¬ 
fore  impracticable.  But  the  received  opinion,  on  the  other  hand,  is,  that  it  is  one  of  the  last  to 
freeze,  and  is  the  last  resort  of  the  wild  fowl.  The  Sioux  are  said  to  congregate,  in  consequence 
upon  its  banks  in  large  numbers  ;  relying  on  this  resource,  whilst  they  are  otherwise  collecting 
their  peltries,  insomuch  that  the  American  Fur  Department  at  St.  Peter’s  has  always  kept  up  this 
post  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  advantages  of  this  trade.  Besides,  this  river  is  fed  by  a 
great  number  of  springs  ;  and  the  upper  portion  of  its  course  is  in  a  remarkable  manner  pro¬ 
tected  from  sudden  changes  of  temperature  by  high  rocky  banks  and  thick  forests  that  cover  them. 

Under  all  these  circumstances  I  have  thought  proper  to  notice  these  facts,  that  seem  to 
possess  sufficient  interest  in  the  history  of  the  geography  of  the  west;  I  have  stated  what  appeared 
to  me  the  true  facts  in  the  case;  and  I  may  add,  in  conclusion,  that  if  La  Hontan’s  claims  to  dis¬ 
coveries  are  mere  fables,  he  has  had  the  good  fortune  or  the  sagacity  to  have  come  near  the  truth. 


*  The  vicinity  of  Faribault, 
t  Cannon  lake,  in  Rice  county. 


74 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Nicollet,  1838. 


Further,  in  reference  to  La  Hontan  river :  when  the  French  were  in  possession  of  the 
country  it  was  known  by  the  name  Riviere  aux  Canots  or  Canoe  river,  as  it  was  there  that  the 
traders  were  in  the  habit  of  concealing  their  canoes.  Its  present  name  of  Cannon  river  is  evidently 
a  corruption  of  the  French  one.  The  one  which  it  bore  among  the  Sioux  in  1700,  when  Le  Sueur 
ascended  the  Mississippi  (and  which  it  still  bears)  was  Inyan-bosndata ,  or  Standing  Rock. 

CASTLE  ROCK,  LONE  ROCK  AND  CHIMNEY  ROCK. 

This  Indian  name  (Inyan-bosndata)  is  that  of  a  natural  obelisk  which  occurs  on  alow  and  sandy 
plain  four  miles  to  the  north  of  the  crossing  place,  on  the  “north  fork  of  La  Hontan  river.”*  This 
heap  of  disintegrated  sandstone  rock  is  thirty-six  feet  high.  It  is  a  curious  specimen  of  the 
weatheiing  of  the  sandstone  of  the  west,  that  may  be  compared  to  the  earth  pillars  left  behind  by 
workmen  to  mark  the  extent  of  their  excavations,  and  is  possibly  a  relic  of  the  thickness  of  the 
formation  previous  to  the  devastating  agency  of  the  elements,  that  has  altered  the  original  level  of 
the  surface  of  the  country.  My  friend,  the  Viscomte  de  Montmort  (then  an  attache  to  the  French 
legation  at  Washington,  who  accompanied  me  in  this  excursion),  has  furnished  me  with  an 
admirable  drawing  of  it,  as  well  as  of  the  natural  monument  next  to  be  mentioned. 

Twelve  miles  north  of  the  natural  obelisk  which  I  have  just  described,  near  the  crossing 
place  of  the  Vermilion  river,  there  are  other  evidencesfof  the  great  denudation  of  the  surface  that 
has  taken  place  in  this  region.  One  of  them  is  also  remarkable  by  its  symmetrical  outlines, 
bearing  the  appearance  of  a  dilapidated  castle  of  feudal  times,  such  as  are  seen  in  the  Alps  and 
other  places ;  hence  its  name.  I  have  thought  it  of  sufficient  importance  to  indicate  their  situa¬ 
tions  on  my  map.  These  natural  monuments  are  mentioned  by  Mr.  Featherstonhaugh  upon  infor¬ 
mation  received  from  others,  but  he  did  not  visit  them. 


THE  DES  MOINES  CONNECTED  WITH  THE  MINNESOTA. 

Mr.  Nicollet  called  attention  to  the  hydrographical  relations  of  the 
Des  Moines  river  with  the  Blue  Earth,  the  Minnesota  and  the  Mississippi 
rivers.  The  point  of  geographical  interest  is  found  in  latitude  48°  45',  lon¬ 
gitude  95°  12',  where  there  is  a  lake  very  near  the  Des  Moines,  called  Tchan 
shetcha  or  Dry  Wood  lake.  The  Blue  Earth  river,  by  means  of  its  tributary, 
the  Watonwan,  has  one  of  its  sources  in  this  lake,  and  the  land  separating 
it  from  the  Des  Moines  is  not  more  than  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half  in 
width.  Thus  a  short  canal  would  bring  the  Des  Moines  into  communica¬ 
tion  with  the  Minnesota.  This  interesting  fact  was  formerly  taken  advan¬ 
tage  of  by  the  Indian  fur  traders,  who,  after  spending  the  winter  on  the 
headwaters  of  the  Des  Moines,  found  it  convenient  to  bring  their  peltries 
by  water  communication  through  the  Watonwan  valley  and  the  Blue  Earth 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Minnesota  river. 


*  Chub  creek  in  Dakota  county, 
t  Lone  rock  and  Chimney  rock. 


>836,  Nicollet.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


75 


NICOLLET  ASCENDS  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

In  July,  1S36,  Mr.  Nicollet  ascended  the  Mississippi  to  its  source  in  Itasca 
lake.  He  says  that  above  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  the  rocky  formations 
assume  another  type,  “being  the  several  varieties  ol  greenstone,  and  finally 
passing  into  talcose  slate.”  as  seen  at  the  falls  of  the  Wabezi,  or  Swan  river,  and 
the  Omoshkos,  or  Elk  river.  Along  with  Schoolcraft,  he  mentions,  among  other 
trees,  the  walnut,  as  one  of  those  native  to  the  Mississippi  valley  above  the 
falls  of  St.  Anthony.  He  mentions,  as  a  prominent  geological  feature  ot 
the  country,  the  outcrop  of  syenitic  rock  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  a  little 
below  the  Pikwabik,  with  a  flesh-colored  feldspar,  extending  a  mile  in  length, 
with  a  breadth  of  half  a  mile,  and  an  elevation  of  eighty  feet,  known  as 
little  rock*  At  the  foot  of  Knife  rapids, f  higher  up,  on  the  same  side  of  the 
river,  “there  are  sources  that  transport  a  very  fine,  brilliant  and  bluish  sand, 
accompanied  by  a  soft  and  unctuous  matter.  This  appears  to  be  the  result 
of  a  decomposition  of  a  steaschist,  probably  interposed  between  the  sienitic 
rocks  previously  mentioned.  The  same  thing  is  observed  at  the  mouths  of 
Wabezi  and  Omoshkos .”  From  Crow  Wing  river  Mr.  Nicollet  pursued  a 
new  route  to  Itasca  lake.  At  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  its  mouth  he 
ascended  Gayashk,  or  Gull  river,  and  the  lake  having  the  same  name.  Then 
portaging  northeast,  he  reached  Pine  river  and  visited  Whitefish  lake. 
Ascending  the  east  fork  of  Pine  river,  he  reached  Kwiwisens,  or  Little  Boy 
river.  This  he  descended  through  a  succession  of  lakes  and  over  small 

rapids,  as  far  as  Leech  lake,  where  he  spent  a  week,  and  was  befriended 
from  the  Indians  in  an  emergency,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Boutwell,  who  had  accom¬ 
panied  Mr.  Schoolcraft  in  1832.  From  Leech  lake  he  passed  westward, 
through  lake  Kabekonang  and  Kabekonang  river,  and  made  a  portage  of  five 
miles  to  the  La  Place  river,  which  is  the  same  that  Mr.  Schoolcraft  called 
the  East  Fork  of  the  Mississippi ,  in  1832.  He  ascended  this  to  lake  Assawa^ 
where  he  found  an  old  camp  of  Mr.  Schoolcraft.  The  last  portage,  one  of 
six  miles,  to  Itasca  lake,  was  found  to  he  very  arduous,  being  across 
numerous  sloughs,  with  low  intervening  ridges.  The  soil  was  found  to  be 
sandy  and  gravelly,  overspread  with  erratic  blocks,  with  a  great  variety  of 
evergreens.  The  last  of  the  series  of  ridges,  being  also  the  highest,  is  120 
feet  above  the  waters  of  lake  Itasca. 


*  The  same  as  Schoolcraft’s  peace  rock,  situated  in  See  27,  Watab,  Benton  county, 
f  Pike  Rapids. 


76 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Nicollet,  1836- 


NICOLLET  AT  THE  SOURCE  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


The  Mississippi  holds  its  own  from  its  very  origin ;  for  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose,  as  has 
been  done,  that  lake  Itasca  may  be  supplied  with  invisible  sources,  to  justify  the  character  of  a 
remarkable  stream,  which  it  assumes  at  its  issue  from  this  lake.  There  are  five  creeks  that  fall 
into  it,  formed  by  innumerable  streamlets  oozing  from  the  clay-beds  at  the  bases  of  the  hills,  that 
consist  of  an  accumulation  of  sand,  gravel  and  clay,  intermixed  with  erratic  fragments ;  being  a 
more  prominent  portion  of  the  erratic  deposite  previously  described,  and  which  here  is  known  by 
the  name  of  Hauteurs  des  Torres ,  higlits  of  land. 

These  elevations  are  commonly  flat  at  top,  varying  in  hight  from  eighty-five  to  one  hundred 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  surrounding  waters.  They  are  covered  with  thick  forests  in  which 
the  coniferous  plants  predominate.  South  of  Itasca  lake  they  form  a  semi-circular  region,  with  a 
boggy  bottom,  extending  to  the  southwest  a  distance  of  several  miles ;  thence  these  Hauteurs  des 
Terres  ascend  to  the  northwest  and  north,  and  then  stretching  to  the  northeast  and  east,  through 
the  zone  between  47°  and  48°  of  latitude,  make  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  that  empty 
into  Hudson  bay  and  those  which  discharge  themselves  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  The  principal  group 
of  these  Hauteurs  des  Terres  is  subdivided  into  several  ramifications,  varying  in  extent,  elevation 
and  course,  so  as  to  determine  the  hydrographical  basins  of  all  the  innumerable  lakes  and  rivers 
that  so  peculiarly  characterize  this  region  of  country. 

One  of  these  ramificationa  extends  in  a  southerly  direction  under  the  name  Coteau  du  Grand 
Bois ;  and  it  is  this  which  separates  the  Mississippi  streams  from  those  of  the  Red  river  of  the 
North. 

The  waters  supplied  by  the  north  flank  of  these  liights  of  land,  still  on  the  south  side  of  lake 
Itasca,  give  origin  to  the  five  creeks  of  which  I  have  spoken  above.  These  are  the  waters  which  I 
consider  to  be  the  utmost  sources  of  the  Mississippi.  Those  that  flow  from  the  southern  side  of 
the  same  liights,  and  empty  themselves  into  Elbow  lake,  are  the  utmost  sources  of  the  Red  river 
of  the  North ;  so  that  the  most  remote  feeders  of  Hudson  bay  and  the  gulf  of  Mexico  are  closely 
approximated  to  each  other. 

Now,  of  the  five  creeks  that  empty  into  Itasca  lake  (the  Omoshkos  Sagaigon ,  of  the  Chippe- 
ways,  or  the  Lac  a  la  Biche,  of  the  French,  or  the  Elk  lake  of  the  British)  one  empties  into  the 
east  bay  of  the  lake ;  the  four  others  into  the  west  bay.  I  visited  the  whole  of  them ;  and  among 
the  latter  there  is  one  remarkable  above  the  others,  inasmuch  as  its  course  is  longer  and  its  waters 
more  abundant ;  so  that,  in  obedience  to  the  geographical  rule  “that  the  sources  of  a  river  are 
those  which  are  most  distant  from  its  mouth,”  this  creek  is  truly  the  infant  Mississippi ;  all  others 
below,  its  feeders  and  tributaries. 

The  day  on  which  I  explored  this  principal  creek,  (Aug.  29,  1836)  I  judged  that,  at  its 
entrance  into  Itasca  lake,  its  bed  was  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  wide,  and  the  depth  of  water 
from  two  to  three  feet.  I  stemmed  its  pretty  brisk  current  during  ten  or  twenty  minutes;  but  the 
obstructions  occasioned  by  the  fall  of  trees  compelled  us  to  abandon  the  canoe,  and  seek  its 
springs  on  foot,  along  the  hills.  After  a  walk  of  three  miles,  during  which  we  took  care  not  to 
lose  sight  of  the  Mississippi,  my  guides  informed  me  that  it  was  better  to  descend  into  the  trough 
of  the  valley ;  when,  accordingly,  we  found  numerous  streamlets  oozing  from  the  bases  of  the 
hills.  The  temperature  obtained  at  a  great  number  of  places,  by  plunging  the  thermometer  in 
the  mud  whence  these  springs  arose,  was  always  between  43°  5'  and  44°  2’  Fah.;  that  of  the 
air  being  between  63°  and  70°.  Having  taken  great  pains  in  determining  the  temperature,  I  have 
a  right  to  believe  that  it  represents  pretty  accurately  the  mean  annual  temperature  of  the  country 
under  examination. 

As  a  further  description  of  these  headwaters,  I  may  add  that  they  unite  at  a  small  distance 
from  the  hills  whence  they  originate,  and  form  a  small  lake,  from  which  the  Mississippi  flows 
with  a  breadth  of  a  foot  and  a  half,  and  a  depth  of  one  foot.  At  no  great  distance,  however,  this 
rivulet,  uniting  itself  with  other  streamlets,  coming  from  other  directions,  supplies  a  second  minor 
lake,  the  waters  of  which  have  already  acquired  a  temperature  of  48°.  From  this  lake  issues  a 
rivulet,  necessarily  of  increased  importance — a  cradled  Hercules,  giving  promise  of  the  strength 
of  his  maturity ;  for  its  velocity  has  increased ;  it  transports  the  smaller  branches  of  trees ;  it 
begins  to  form  sand-bars  ;  its  bends  are  more  decided,  until  it  subsides  again  into  the  basin  of  a 


1836,  Nicollet.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


77 


third  lake  somewhat  larger  than  the  two  preceding.  Having  here  acquired  renewed  vigor,  and 
tried  its  consequence  upon  an  additional  length  of  two  or  three  miles,  it  finally  empties  itself  into 
Itasca  lake,  which  is  the  principal  reservoir  of  all  the  sources,  to  which  it  owes  all  its  subsequent 
majesty. 

The  stream  which  Messrs.  Schoolcraft  and  Allen  have  designated  as  the  East  Fork  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  which  I  have  named  after  the  illustrious  La  Place  (on  which  there  is  a  lake  that 
I  have  called  after  the  celebrated  translator  of  the  Mechanique  Celeste ,  Mr.  Bowditch),  has  its 
source,  perhaps,  as  distant  as  that  to  which  I  have  exclusively  perserved  the  name  of  Mississippi; 
but  as  it  is  less  important,  from  having  less  water,  I  have  considered  it  only  a  tributary  to  that 
to  which  it  unites  itself. 

The  honor  of  having  first  explored  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and  introduced  a  knowledge 
of  them  in  physical  geography,  belongs  to  Mr.  Schoolcraft  and  Lieut.  Allen.  I  come  only  after 
these  gentlemen ;  but  I  may  be  permitted  to  claim  some  merit  for  having  completed  what  was 
wanting  for  a  full  geographical  account  of  these  sources.  Moreover,  I  am,  I  believe,  the  first 
traveler,  who  has  carried  with  him  astronomical  instruments  and  put  them  to  profitable  account 
along  the  whole  course  of  the  Mississippi,  from  its  mouth  to  its  sources. 

Mr.  Nicollet  returned  from  lake  Itasca  by  way  of  lake  Pemidji,  the 
Metoswa  rapids,  and  Cass  and  Leech  lakes,  stopping  again  with  Rev.  Mr.  Bout- 
well.  Of  this  last  lake  he  says  that  its  name,  both  in  English  and  Chippe- 
way,  implies  that  “its  waters  contain  a  remarkable  number  of  leeches.” 
The  Pokegama  falls  (“rapids”)  are  said  to  have  a  fall  of  nine  feet  in  the 
distance  of  eighty  yards.  The  rock  over  which  the  water  passes  is  styled 
a  gray  quartzyte,  seen  in  the  banks  and  bed  of  the  river.  He  parallelizes 
it  with  the  rocks  on  the  St.  Louis  river,  “  where  are  found  calciferous  and 
argillaceous  steachists,  conglomerates  formed  of  quartz  pebbles,  and  bound 
together  by  steachist,  containing  sulphuret  of  iron,  and  a  sandstone  which 
may  be  possibly  referred  to  the  ‘old  red  sandstone.’  ” 

THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI  COUNTRY. 

Over  the  whole  route  which  I  traversed  after  leaving  Crow  Wing  river,  the  country  has  a 
different  aspect  from  that  which  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  above  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony 
present.  The  forests  are  denser  and  more  varied ;  the  soil,  which  is  alternately  sandy,  gravelly, 
clayey  and  loamy,  is,  generally  speaking,  lighter,  excepting  on  the  shores  of  some  of  the  larger 
lakes.  The  uplands  are  covered  with  white  and  yellow  pines,  spruce  and  birch,  and  the  wet  low 
lands  by  the  American  larch  and  the  willow.  On  the  slopes  of  sandy  hills,  the  American  aspen, 
the  canoe  birch,  with  a  species  of  birch  of  dwarfish  growth,  the  alder  and  wild  rose,  extend  to 
the  very  margin  of  the  river.  On  the  borders  of  the  larger  lakes,  where  the  soil  is  generally, 
better,  we  find  the  sugar  maple,  the  black  and  bur  oaks  (also  named  over-cup  white  oak,  but 
differing  from  the  white  oak),  the  elm,  ash,  lime  tree,  &c.  Generally  speaking,  however,  this 
woodland  does  not  extend  back  farther  than  a  mile  from  the  lakes.  The  white  cedar,  the 
hemlock,*  spruce  pine,  and  fir,  are  occasionally  found ;  but  the  red  cedar  is  scarce  throughout 
this  region,  and  none,  perhaps,  is  to  be  seen,  except  on  islands  of  those  lakes  called  by  the 
Indians  Red  Cedar  lakes.  The  shrubbery  consists  principally  of  the  wild  rose,  hawthorn,  and 
wild  plum;  and  raspberries,  blackberries,  strawberries  and  cranberries  are  abundant. 

The  aspect  of  the  country  is  greatly  varied  by  hills,  dales,  copses,  small  prairies,  and  a  great 
number  of  lakes ;  the  whole  of  which  I  do  not  pretend  to  have  laid  down  011  my  map.  The 


*Tlie  hemlock,  Abies  Canadensis,  does  not  grow  in  the  state  of  Minnesota.  — N.  H.  W. 


78 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Nicollet.  1856 


natural  beauties  of  the  country  are,  however,  impressed  with  a  character  of  sternness  and  melan¬ 
choly  ;  the  silence  and  solitude  of  which  are  interrupted  or  revived  only  by  the  water-fowl  that 
congregate  about  its  waters  to  nestle  amidst  and  fatten  upon  the  wild  rice.  The  naturalist, 
however,  has  still  an  endless  field  of  observations,  in  the  insect  world  ;  for  everywhere  life  mani¬ 
fests  itself  in  some  form  or  other.  It  is,  indeed,  remarkable  that  the  more  we  advance  to  the 
north  (to  within  a  certain  extent,  nevertheless),  the  more  the  mosquito  appears  to  be  abundant, 
as  every  voyageur  knows  by  sad  experience. 

The  lakes  to  which  I  have  just  alluded  are  distributed  in  separate  groups,  or  are  arranged  in 
prolonged  chains  along  the  rivers,  and  not  unfrequently  attached  to  each  other  by  gentle  rapids. 
It  has  seemed  to  me  that  they  diminish  in  extent,  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  as  we  proceed 
southwardly,  as  far  as  43°  of  north  latitude ;  and  this  observation  extends  to  the  arctic  region, 
commencing  at  Bear’s  lake,  or  Slave  lake,  Winnipeg  lake,  &c.  It  may  be  further  remarked  that 
the  basins  of  these  lakes  have  a  sufficient  depth  to  leave  no  doubt  that  they  will  remain  charac¬ 
teristic  features  of  the  country  for  a  long  time  to  come.  Several  species  of  fish  abound  in  them. 
The  white-fish  (Co rregonus  albus)  is  found  in  all  the  deep  lakes  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  indeed 
from  lake  Erie  to  the  Polar  sea.  That  which  is  taken  in  Leech  lake  is  said  by  amateurs  to  be 
more  highly  flavored  than  even  that  of  lake  Superior,  and  weighs  from  three  to  ten  pounds. 
There  is  another  species  of  this  white-fish,  called  by  the  Indians  tuliby  or  otluniby  (the  Corregonus 
artedi )  which  resembles  it,  but  is  much  less  esteemed.  Both  species  furnish  a  wholesome  and 
palatable  food.  Among  the  other  species  of  fish  that  inhabit  these  waters,  are  the  mashkinonge ,  or 
mashkilonge ;  the  pike  or  jack-fish  ;  the  pickerel  or  gilt  carp  ;  the  sucker  or  true  carp  ;  the  perch  ; 
a  species  of  trout  called  by  the  Chippeways  namogus ,  &c.,  &c.  These  lakes,  which  are  somewhat 
deep,  swarm  with  leeches ;  and  among  the  amphibious  reptiles  there  are  several  species  of  terrapin 
and  turtle,  of  which  Mr.  Say  has  described  three  of  each  kind  in  the  appendix  to  the  second  expe¬ 
dition  of  Major  Long.  • 


FOSSILS  COLLECTED  BY  MR.  NICOLLET. 

Appendix  C  of  Mr.  Nicollet’s  report  contains  names  of  fossils  collected 
at  different  points  in  Iowa,  Missouri,  Dakota,  and  the  following  at  the  falls 
of  St.  Anthony  in  Minnesota  : 

Strop honrena,  allied  to  S.  alternata. 

Strophomena,  new  species. 

Orthis  testudinaria  ?  (Murch.  Sil.  Syst.  pi.  20,  fig.  10). 

Orthis  polygramma  ?  (Murch.  Sil.  Syst.  pi.  21,  fig.  4a). 

'  Orthis  (three  new  species). 

Steriocisma  (resembling  Terehratula  schlothrimi,  Dal.) 

Atrypa  (new  species). 

Pleurotomaria  (new  species— numerous). 

Euomphalus,  allied  to  Maclurites  magna  (Des.) 

Euomphalus ,  resembling  E.  sculptus  (Sowerby). 

Phragmolites,  same  as  in  the  Trenton  limestone  in  N.  Y. 
Phragmolites,  new  species. 

Bellerophon  hilohatus. 

Orthoceras  (two  species,  undetermined). 


1844,  Allen.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


79 


Crinoidal  remains  of  peculiar  forms,  one  resembling  Lipocrinifes. 

Turbinolopsis  bina?  (Sil.  Syst.  pi.  16  bis,  fig.  5.) 

Favosites  lycoperdon  (Say).  Trenton  limestone  fossil. 

Favosites  (two  new  species). 

Fucoides  (obscure). 

Cyathophyllum  cera fifes  ? 

Turritella. 

Of  the  list  of  plants  determined  by  Dr.  Torrey  for  Mr.  Nicollet,  the 
greater  part  were  collected  in  Dakota  or  in  Missouri,  out  fifty-six  species 
being  assigned  to  Minnesota. 

CAPT.  J.  ALLEN’S  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  SOURCE  OF  THE  DES  MOINES  IN  1S44. 

This  expedition  reached  a  lake  which  was  found  by  observations  of  the 
sun  with  a  small  sextant  to  be  in  lat.  43°  57'  32".  This  was  probably  what 
is  now  known  as  lake  Shetek,  which  is  somewhat  above  44°  of  latitude.* 
This  lake  he  named  lake  of  the  Oaks.  He  described  it  as  remarkable 
for  a  singular  arrangement  of  the  peninsulas  running  into  it  from  all  sides, 
and  for  a  heavy  growth  of  timber  that  covers  these  peninsulas  and  the 
borders  of  the  lake.  He  explored  the  country  north  from  this  lake  thirty- 
seven  miles,  and  thence  eastward  to  the  St.  Peter’s  river.  Returning  to 
lake  Shetek  he  traveled  westward  to  the  Big  Sioux  river  which  he  followed 
to  its  mouth. 

ELK  AND  BUFFAL'6  ON  THE  DES  MOINES  IN  1S45. 

“  From  Lizard  creek  of  the  Des  Moines  to  the  source  of  the  Des  Moines, 
and  thence  east  to  the  St.  Peter’s,  is  a  range  for  elk  and  common  deer,  but 
principally  elk.  We  saw  a  great  many  of  the  elk  on  our  route  and  killed 
many  of  them  ;  they  were  sometimes  seen  in  droves  of  hundreds,  but  were 
always  difficult  to  approach,  and  very  difficult  to  overtake  in  chase,  except 
with  a  fleet  horse  and  over  good  ground.  No  dependence  could  be  placed 
upon  this  game  in  this  country  for  the  subsistence  of  troops  marching 
through  it. 

“  Twenty-five  miles  west  of  the  source  of  the  Des  Moines  we  struck  the 
range  of  the  buffalo  and  continued  in  it  to  the  Big  Sioux  river,  and  down 


*  Ex.  Docs.,  First  Session,  29th  Congress,  1845-’6,  Vol.  VI.  No.  168. 


80 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Alleu,  1844. 


that  river  about  eighty-six  miles.  Below  that  we  could  not  see  any  recent 
signs  of  them.  We  found  antelope  in  the  same  range  with  the  buffalo,  but 
no  elk,  and  very  seldom  a  common  deer.  While  among  the  buffalo  we 
killed  as  many  as  we  wanted,  and  without  trouble.” 

THE  UPPER  DES  MOINES  RIVER. 

Upon  approaching  the  region  of  the  boundary  line  between  Iowa  and 
Minnesota  he  became  penned  among  numerous  lakes,  and  was  compelled 
to  cross  a  narrow  strait  by  swimming  200  yards.  This  was  probably  across 
a  narrow  spot  in  Swan  lake,  in  Emmett  county,  Iowa.  From  there  he  sent 
a  party  to  examine  the  country  toward  the  east.  This  party  reached  Iowa 
lake  (on  the  boundary  line)  and  explored  its  outlet  toward  the  east  and  into 
the  East  Chain  of  lakes,  reaching  the  conclusion  that  the  water  was  tribu¬ 
tary  to  the  Blue  Earth,  “  or  of  an  unknown  tributary  of  the  Big  Cedar.” 
IIo  passed  by  Eagle  lake,  and  Independence  lake,  camping  at  each,  and 
arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Windom  where  he  describes  the  country  as  a 
“  wonderfully  broken  surface,  rising  and  falling  in  high  knobs  and  deep 
ravines,  with  numerous  little  lakes  in  the  deep  valleys,  some  of  them  clear 
and  pretty  and  others  grassy.”  A  party  which  visited  the  Blue  mounds, 
near  Windom,  found  an  artificial  mound  of  stone  on  the  highest  peak.  He 
visited  Talcott  lake,  where  he  rested  his  men  in  camp,  ^nd  himself  visited 
lake  Shetek,  which  he  pronounced  the  highest  source  of  the  Des  Moines 
worth  noticing  as  such,  though  he  also  mentions  an  inlet  from  the  north¬ 
ward,  “but  of  no  size  or  character.”  He  crossed  the  Cottonwood  nearly 
north  from  lake  Shetek,  also  the  Redwood,  river  still  further  north,  and  the 
latter  again  near  Redwood  falls.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Redwood  he 
explored  the  south  shore  of  the  Minnesota  several  miles  up  and  down,  and 
returned  to  lake  Shetek.  He  crossed  the  Coteau  des  Prairies  in  Cottonwood 
county,  styling  it  the  “  Big  Prairie.”  He  reached  the  Big  Sioux  river  without 
finding  any  such  stream  as  that  which  had  been  shown  on  the  maps  as 
“  Floyd’s  river.” 

capt.  e.  v.  sumner’s  expedition  in  1845. 

The  expedition  of  Capt.  E.  Y.  Sumner*  seems  to  have  been  made  more 


♦Executive  Documents,  1st  Sess.,  29th  Congress,  1815-46.  No.  2.  p.  217. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  81 

1850,  Owen. 

for  the  purpose  of  impressing  the  Indians  with  the  power  of  the  government 
and  the  necessity  of  committing  no  depredations  on  the  settlers,  than  for 
the  purpose  of  learning  the  nature  of  the  country.  He  left  Fort  Atkinson, 
June  3d,  and  arrived  at  “Traverse  des  Sioux”  June  22d,  having  met  Lieut. 
Allen  June  13th,  about  midway  between  Fort  Atkinson  and  the  St.  Peter’s 
river.  The  companies  continued  together  from  that  time.  From  Traverse 
des  Sioux  they  marched  to  Lac  qui  Parle,  where  Capt.  Sumner  had  an 
important  conference  with  the  Warpeton  Sioux,  whom  he  distinguishes  as 
the  “  upper  Sioux.”  He  reached  Big  Stone  lake  on  the  5th  of  July,  where 
he  met  in  council  a  large  band  of  Sissitons.  He  reached  “  Devil’s  lake” 
on  the  forty-eighth  degree  of  north  latitude,  on  July  18th,  where  he  had  a 
conference  with  a  party  of  the  Winnipeg  half-breeds,  numbering  about 
one  hundred  and  eighty.  He  reached  Traverse  des  Sioux  on  his  return,  the 
7th  of  August;  whence  he  repaired  to  Fort  Atkinson  on  the  11th,  Capt. 
Allen  returning  to  Fort  Des  Moines. 

THE  SURVEY  OF  D.  D.  OWEN,  1847-1850. 

* 

The  fine  quarto  volume  which  resulted  from  Dr.  Owen’s  survey  of  Wis¬ 
consin,  Iowa  and  Minnesota,  was  a  report  made  in  pursuance  of  instructions 
from  the  Treasury  Department,  Washington,  addressed  to  Hon.  J.  Butter- 
field,  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  and  was  published  by  Lip- 
cott,  Grambo  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  in  1852.  While  it  was  not  the  first  of  the 
scientific  reports  published  by  the  U.  S.  government  relating  to  the  geology 
of  the  territories,  it  was  the  first  of  note  conducted  and  published  by  other 
than  the  Department  ol  War.  It  has  proved  to  be  the  worthy  sire  of  a 
numerous  progeny,  the  initiation  and  exemplar  of  a  series  of  scientific  publi¬ 
cations  by  the  U.  S.  government,  partly  under  the  War  Department  and 
partly  by  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  which  have  caused  American 
science  to  illumine  the  whole  world.  The  work  of  Owen  was  continued  by 
Foster  and  Whitney,  and  revived  and  extended  by  Hayden.  Dr.  Owen's 
field  extended  from  St.  Louis  to  the  British  line,  and  from  the  west  shore  of 
lake  Michigan  to  the  Missouri  river.  Its  primary  object  was  to  derive 
information  for  the  removal  of  such  lands  as  were  valuable  for  their  min¬ 
eral  resources  from  sale,  in  the  land  office  at  Washington.  Such  an  inquiry 


6 


82 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Owen,  1850. 


necessarily  embraced  many  geological  and  chemical  questions,  and  required 
at  least  a  preliminary  geological  survey.  The  earlier  reconnoissances  of 
Majors  Long  and  Pike,  and  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  embraced  many  isolated  impor¬ 
tant  facts  hearing  on  the  geology  and  natural  history  of  Minnesota,  made 
incidentally  along  the  routes  they  took,  but  Dr.  Owen's  survey  was  more 
comprehensive  and  more  detailed.  Its  primary  object  being  an  examination 
of  the  country  and  not  a  military  reconnoissance,  it  did  not  contend  with 
the  difficulties  incident  to  rapid  marching,  complained  of  by  Keating  and 
Beltrami.  His  report  throws  the  first  real  light,  derived  from  the  system¬ 
atized  science  of  modern  times,  on  the  geology  and  the  present  fauna  and 
flora  of  Minnesota.  The  work  was  sufficiently  prolonged  to  enable  the 
naturalists  who  co-operated  with  him  to  gather  reliable  facts  enough  to 
lay  down  correctly  the  ground-work  of  a  vast  extent  of  scientific  research. 
His  report  not  only  corrected  prevalent  errors,  but  established  on  correct 

•  1 

paleontological  evidence  the  age  of  most  of  the  bedded  rocks  of  Minnesota, 
and  disseminated  information  concerning  its  topography  and  soil.* 


*Dr.  Owen’s  corps  consisted  of  the  following  gentlemen:  J.  G.  Norwood,  Assistant  Geologist;  J.  Evans.  B.  F. 
Shumard,  B.  C,  Macy,  C.  Whittlesey,  A.  Litton,  It.  Owen,  heads  of  sub-corps;  G.  Warren,  H.  Pratten,  F.  B.  Meek, 
J.  Beal,  sub  assistants. 

Dr.  Owen’s  own  report,  covering  the  first  206  pages  of  the  volume,  is  divided  into  six  chapters.  He  gives  a  brief 
history  of  the  explorations  of  the  various  corps,  sketches  the  difficulties  and  adventures  that  befell  them,  and  names  the 
salient  points  of  interest  in  the  progress,  and  the  results  of  the  survey,  in  the  Introduction  The  chapters  are  as  follows  : 

1.  Formations  of  the  upper  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  belonging  to  the  Silurian  Period. 

2.  Formations  of  the  Cedar,  and  part  of  the  lower  Iowa  river,  belonging  to  the  Devonian  Period. 

3.  Carboniferous  rocks  of  southern  and  western  Iowa. 

4.  Formations  of  the  interior  of  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota. 

5.  Formations  of  lake  Superior. 

C.  Incidental  observations  on  the  Missouri  river,  and  on  the  Mauvaises  Terres  (Bad  Lands). 

Dr.  Norwood’s  report  on  some  portions  of  the  country  adjacent  to  lake  Superior  consists  of— 

1.  Boundaries  and  topographical  notices. 

2.  Descriptive  catalogue  of  the  rocks  referred  to  in  his  report. 

3.  Narrative  of  the-explorations  made  in  1847,  between  La  Pointe  and  St.  Louis  river,  and  between  Fond  du  Lac 
and  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  on  the  St  Croix  river. 

4.  Physical  structure  and  geology  of  the  northwestern  and  western  portions  of  the  valley  of  lake  Superior. 

Col.  (  lias.  Whittlesey’s  report  pertains  to  that  portion  of  Wisconsin  bordering  on  the  south  shore  of  lake  Superior, 
with  the  following  chapters: 

1.  General  description  and  geology  ot  the  Bail  river  country,  and  of  that  between  the  Bad  river  and  the  Bride  ; 
with  descriptions  and  detailed  sections  of  rocks  like  those  which  in  Michigan  are  copper-bearing;  and  accounts  of  the 
magnetic-iron  beds  of  the  Penokie  Iron  range,  and  of  “  Iron  Ridge’  .  in  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin. 

2.  Description  of  the  country  between  the  Wisconsin  and  Menomonie  rivers;  with  a  discussion  of  the  general 
geology,  and  its  relations  to  other  parts  of  the  Northwest. 

3.  Red  clay  and  drift  of  Green  bay  and  Wisconsin. 

4.  Barometrical  and  tliermometrical  observations. 

5.  Lumbering  on  the  waters  of  Green  bay. 

Dr.  B.  F  Sliumard’s  report  pertains  to  local  and  detailed  observations  in  the  valleys  ot  the  Minnesota,  Mississippi 
and  Wisconsin  rivers,  as  follows: 

1.  Detailed  observations  of  the  St.  Peter’s  and  its  tributaries 

2.  Local  sections  on  the  upper  Mississippi 

3.  Local  sections  on  the  Wisconsin  and  Baraboo  rivers. 

4.  Observations  on  Snake.  Kettle,  and  Rush  rivers. 

Dr.  J.  Leidy  furnished  for  the  volume  a  memoir  on  the  remains  of  extinct  Mammalia  and  Chelonia,  from  Nebraska 
territory. 

The  Appendix  embraces — 

1.  Descriptions  of  new  and  imperfectly  known  genera  and  species  of  organic  remains  collected  during  the  geo¬ 
logical  surveys  ot  Wisconsin,  Iowa  and  Minnesota.  By  D.  D.  Owen.  • 

2.  Descriptions  of  one  new  genus  and  twenty-two  new  species  of  Orinoidea  from  the  Subearboniferous  limestone  of 
Iowa.  By  D.  D.  Owen  and  B.  F.  Shumard. 

3.  Summary  of  the  distribution  of  orders,  genera  and  species  in  the  Northwest.  By  I).  D.  Owen  and  B.  F.  Shumard. 

4.  Additional  chemical  examinations.  By  D.  D.  Owen. 

5.  Systematic  catalogue  of  plants  of  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota.  By  C.  C.  Parry. 

6.  Table  of  stratigraphieal  and  geological  distribution  of  genera  and  species  in  the  Northwest. 

The  volume  is  illustrated  with  twenty-six  plates  of  fossils,  twenty  maps  and  large  plates  of  geological  sections,  and 
a  general  geological  map  of  the  whole  country  reported  on;  the  whole  constituting  at  that  time  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  expensive  scientific  publications  of  the  United  States  government,  and  a  monument  at  once  to  the  learning,  the 
zeal  and  wise  management  of  Dr.  Owen. 


1850,  Owen.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


83 


The  survey  of  Owen,  so  far  as  it  threw  light  on  the  stqte  ot  Minnesota, 
served  for  a  reoonnoissance,  and  indicated  within  certain  broad  limits  the 
general  topography  and  geology.  It  first  established  the  Lower  Silurian 
age  of  the  rocks  outcropping  along  the  upper  Mississippi  valley,  and 
especially  of  that  forming  the  brink  of  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  which  had 
generally  been  regarded  as  Carboniferous.  Under  the  general  term  “pro- 
tozoic  rocks,”  he  describes  the  “lower  sandstone  of  the  upper  Mississippi,” 
which  he  says  may  be  seen  in  the  lower  portions  of  the  bluffs  of  the 
river,  and  in  the  sandstones  of  the  Minnesota  valley  above  Shakopee.  In 
the  upper  portions  of  this  great  formation  he  brought  to  light  an  interest¬ 
ing  and  very  important  series  of  organic  remains,  and  in  its  lower  portions 
he  found  beds  charged  with  Lingulae  and  Orbiculce.  He  enumerates  six 
horizons  that  hold  trilobites,  the  uppermost  separated  from  the  lowest  by  an 
interval  of  about  500  feet,  though  it  is  highly  probable  that  some  of  these 
trilobite  beds  are  contemporary,  and  that  the  actual  thickness  of  this  forma¬ 
tion  is  somewhat  less  than  500  feet,  as  developed  on  the  upper  Mississippi. 
Nowhere  in  his  report  does  Dr.  Owen  parallelize  these  beds  with  the  Pots¬ 
dam  sandstone  of  New  York,  but  seems  to  believe  that  the  “palaeozoic  base” 
of  the  Mississippi  as  seen  on  the  St.  Croix  river,  is  from  seventy  -  five  to  one 
hundred  feet  lower  than  the  parallel  of  the  “  Lingula  beds”  of  the  New  York 

1 

Potsdam,  which,  up  to  that  time,  had  been  regarded  as  the  lowest  fossil - 
iferous  base  in  the  United  States  (page  50).  But  in  the  appendix  (p.  634)  are 
tables  of  the  equivalency  of  the  geological  formations,  and  of  the  strati - 
graphidal  distribution  of  genera  of  fossils,  in  which,  presumably  constructed 
by  Dr.  Owen,  this  formation  is  parallelized  with  the  Potsdam  of  New  York 
state.*  Under  the  term  “protozoic  rocks”  he  not  only  includes  the  lowest 
sandstones  but  also  the  rest  of  the  Lower  and  Upper  Silurian.  He  separates 
the  limestones  of  the  Northwest  into  Lower  and  Upper  Magnesian,  the 
former  being  that  which  still  retains  that  name,  though  by  him  and  his 
corps  always  confounded  with  the  Shakopee  limestone  of  Minnesota,  in  the 
same  manner  as  he  confounds  the  outcrops  of  the  Jordan  sandstone  with 
the  “lowest  sandstone”.  In  the  latter  he  has  included  the  Galena  of  the 
Lower  Silurian  and  the  Niagara  of  the  Upper  Silurian,  having  failed  to 


*See  also  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Phil.  1852.  p.  190. 


84 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Owen,  1850. 


observe  any  thing  that  represented  the  Maqnoketa  shales,  which  separate 
them  in  Iowa.  The  Galena  he  makes  the  equivalent  of  the  Utica  slate  and 
Hudson  River  group,  which  latter  also  seems  to  include  the  Maquoketa 
shales.  He  recognized  the  Devonian  formation  near  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  state  along  the  Cedar  river,  but  he  made  no  note  of  the  Cretaceous 
within  the  state.  Its  exposures  are  referred  by  his  assistant,  Dr.  B.  F.  Shu- 
mard,  either  to  the  Lower  Silurian  or  to  the  epoch  of  the  drift.  Fragments 
of  lignite  found  in  the  valley  of  the  “  Mankato”  river  were  supposed  by  him 
not  to  have  come  from  the  rock  in  situ  within  Minnesota,  but  to  have  been 
transported  with  the  drift  from  the  north,  perhaps  from  the  beds  reported 
by  Dr.  Richardson  to  contain  coal  on  the  shore  of  Great  Bear  lake,  “or  from 
the  Cretaceous  or  super-Cretaceous  lignite  formations  which  were  observed 
by  Nicollet  and  others,  off  toward  the  Missouri  and  Rocky  mountains.” 

That  part  of  the  report  which  is  most  valuable  to  Minnesota  was  written 
by  Dr.  J.  G.  Norwood.  It  is  also  the  most  voluminous.*  The  rock  speci¬ 
mens  collected  by  him,  numbered  up  to  680,  are  described  with  care  and 
discrimination,  and  were  probably  deposited  in  the  Smithsonian  Insti¬ 
tution  at  Washington.  They  were  obtained  in  the  northern  and  eastern 
pdrtions  of  the  state,  and  illustrate  specially  the  northwest  shore  of  lake 
Superior.  The  report  on  the  north  shore  of  lake  Superior  is  remarkable  for 
the  minuteness  of  the  description  of  the  topography  of  numerous  valleys, 
and  for  the  correctness  of  the  general  views  of  itsr  geology.  Its  numerous 
illustrations  are  graphic,  and,  although  sometimes  aided  by  idealization,  are 
essentially  correct.  They  show  vividly  the  interstratification  of  the  igneous 
and  sedimentary  rocks,  and  depict  numerous  remarkably  picturesque  spots 
at  which  both  the  artist  and  the  geologist  willingly  linger.  His  views  of  the 
metamorphism  of  the  sedimentary  beds  by  the  action  of  the  igneous,  were  in 
accord  with  the  current  interpretation  of  crystalline  rocks  of  his  day,  and 
were  in  confirmation  of  the  views  of  Mr.  Mather  of  the  New  York  state 
survey,  in  opposition  to  those  of  Mr.  Emmons,  on  the  Taconic  controversy, 
although  the  bearing  of  his  report  on  that  controversy  was  not  mentioned 
by  Dr.  Norwood.  The  frequency  and  importance  of  the  action  of  the  igne- 

*This  valuable  report  is  not  mentioned  by  Dr,  T.  S.  Hunt  in  his  resume  of  the  literature[of  the  crystalline  rocks  ot 
America  for  the  second  Pennsylvania  Survey  (Rep.  E.) 

fin  the  ninth  annual  report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  where  the  collections  of  Dr.  Owen  are  catalogued, 
together  with  those  of  Jackson,  Locke,  Foster  and  Whitney,  no  mention  is  made  of  those  of  Norwood. 


1850,  Owen.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


85 


ous  rocks  on  the  sedimentary  is  prominently  brought  out  in  the  report. 
This  complicates  the  geology  and  renders  the  identification  of  the  rocks 
both  difficult  and  sometimes  erroneous.  In  conclusion  he  remarks  “that 
there  is  perhaps  no  extinct  volcanic  region  in  the  world  where  trap  and 
other  igneous  intrusions  can  be  studied  to  better  advantage  than  in  the 
country  bordering  on  the  northwest  shore  of  lake  Superior.  N ot  only  are  the 
vertical  dykes  numerous  and  conspicuous,  but  there  are  abundant  examples 
of  overflows,  as  well  as  interlaminated  insinuations  producing  all  degrees 
of  metamorphosis  on  the  adjacent  strata,  graduating  from  mere  induration 
of  the  beds  to  complete  obliteration  of  stratification  and  sedimentary  origin, 
so  that  the  beds  of  deposition  become  confounded  with  the  igneous  masses 
that  have  invaded  them  and  produced  such  extraordinary  changes.” 

Dr.  B.  F.  Shumard  made  the  only  examination  of  the  valley  of  the 
Minnesota;  which  he  ascended  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Redwood  river. 
At  that  point  he  was  attacked  with  pleurisy,  and  was  compelled  to  return 
hastily  to  Traverse  des  Sioux  and  Fort  Snelling.  His  report  exhibits 
the  first  attempt  ever  made  to  parallelize  the  rocks  of  the  valley 
with  those  of  the  rest  of  the  state,  or  to  determine  their  age  by 
reference  to  a  known  standard  of  nomenclature.  He  recognized  Dr. 
Owen’s  Nos.  2C  and  3A,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  the  Fort 
Snelling  bluff,  i.  e.  the  Trenton  and  Black  River  limestones,  and  the  St. 
Peter  sandstone.  At  Shakopee,  and  thence  to  Little  rapids  (near  Carver) 
he  notes  the  Lower  Magnesian.  The  sandstone  at  the  last  place  he  regards 
as  belonging  to  a  formation  several  hundred  fefet  below  the  white  sandstone 
of  the  Fort  Snelling  bluff,*  and  probably  to  the  sandstones  of  Formation  1. 
The  limestone  and  sandstone  exposed  at  intervals  from  Shakopee  to  Man¬ 
kato,  forming  the  immediate  bluffs  of  the  river,  and  constituting  several 
islands,  he  refers  to  the  Lower  Magnesian  and  the  sandstones  of  Formation  1. 
Ascending  the  Blue  Earth  river  six  or  eight  miles,  and  observing  the  same 
geological  horizon  as  far  as  he  went,  he  notes  subsequently  two  or  three 
exposures  of  Formation  1,  before  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Waraju  (Cot¬ 
tonwood)  river,  one  being  two  miles  below  the  mouth  of  that  stream.  The 
red  quartzyte  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Waraju  he  regards  as  the  lower  beds 

*It  is  the  Jordan  Sandstone,  and  lies  about  seventy-five  feet  below  the  sandstone  of  the  Fort  Snelling  bluff,  the  Sha¬ 
kopee  limestone  separating  them. 


86 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Woods,  1849. 


of  Formation  1,  more  or  less  altered  by  metamorphism  “where  they  abut  upon 
the  igneous  rocks.”  He  also  notes  conglomerate  and  granite  outcrops  about 
a  mile  in  a  straight  line  above  the  mouth  of  the  Waraju.  He  mentions 
granite  at  La  Petite  Roche,  and  at  frequent  other  points  before  reaching  the 
Redwood  river.  He  describes  an  interesting  exposure  two  or  three  miles 
below  the  mouth  of  this  river,  probably  the  same  as  that  described  by 
Keating  and  by  Reltrami. 

Mr.  Shumard  also  gives  the  details  of  local  sections  on  the  upper  Mis¬ 
sissippi  in  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin,  beginning  with  the  falls  of  St. 
Anthony,  and  on  the  Wisconsin  and  Baraboo  rivers,  as  well  as  observations 
on  the  sandstones,  conglomerates  and  trap-rocks  of  Snake  and  Kettle  rivers. 
On  the  Snake  and  Kettle  rivers  he  made  collections  of  a  peculiar  green 
mineral  from  the  amygdaloids,  which  at  first  was  soft  as  tallow  but  on 
exposure  became  brittle.  It  was  analyzed  by  Dr.  Owen  and  regarded  as 
new,*  but  resembling  phillipsite  from  Iceland,  being  really  a  “  magnesian 
harmotome.” 

MAJOR  woods’  EXPEDITION  TO  PEMBINA. 

I11  the  summer  of  1849,  Major  S.  Woods  was  despatched  by  the  Secre¬ 
tary  of  War  to  the  Pembina  settlement  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  site 
for  a  military  post.  His  reportf  is  not  accompanied  by  any  map,  although 
Capt.  John  Pope  states  he  prepared  a  map  of  the  route.  He  proceeded  from 
Fort  Snelling  to  Sauk  Rapids,  along  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  a  route 
well  known  and  traveled  at  that  time  every  summer  by  large  “trains”  of 
carts  from  the  Red  River  settlements.  Passing  up  the  Sauk  valley,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  the  expedition  crossed  it  at  the  great  bend,  and 
reached  lake  David,  which  is  described  as  having  a  length  north  and  south 
and  draining  into  a  branch  of  Crow  river,  twelve  miles  west  of  the  great 
bend  of  the  Sauk  river.  Seven  or  eight  miles  from  lake  David  is  lake 
Henrie,  of  about  the  same  size.  Lightning  lake,  is  about  seven  miles  from 
the  point  at  which  the  trail  crossed  the  branch  of  Crow  river,  so  named 
from  the  incident  of  a  terriflic  thunder-storm  in  which  Lieut.  Nelson’s  life 
was  nearly  lost  by  lightning  striking  his  tent-pole.  Fourteen  miles  further 


*Jour.  Phil.  Acad.  Science ,  (2),  II.  183. 
tHouse  Ex.  Doc.  No.  51,  1st  Sess.  31st  Cong. 


1850,  Pope.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


87 


was  White  Bear  lake,  with  an  average  width  of  two  miles,  and  a  length  of 
perhaps  eight  or  ten  miles  east  and  west,  seventy-five  miles  from  Sauk 
Rapids.  “The  heavily  timbered  highlands  that  range  parallel  with  the 
Mississippi  and  back  some  distance  from  it,  edge  upon  this  lake.  *  *  * 
On  the  north  of  the  lake  the  prairie  is  broken  and  irregular,  hut  the  east, 
west  and  south  borders  lie  handsomely  for  cultivation.”  The  lakes  are  all 
described  as  having  abundance  of  excellent  fish.  Fourteen  miles  from 
White  Bear  lake  he  reached  Pike  lake,  and  twelve  miles  further  crossed 
the  main  branch  of  the  Chippewa  river.  After  passing  Elk  and  Elbow  lakes 
he  came  to  Rabbit  river,  then  Otter-tail  Lake  river  flowing  south  of  west. 
At  the  ford  of  the  latter  stream  he  states  the  bottom  of  the  river  is  “rocky”, 
the  banks  are  good,  water  two  to  three  feet  deep  and  some  fifty  yards  wide. 
Twenty-two  miles  further  he  crossed  the  Red  river  again,  ten  or  fifteen 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Bois  des  Sioux  river.  The  rest  of  his  journey 
was  in  Dakota,  and  he  returned  by  the  same  route.  Respecting  the  country 
west  of  the  Red  river  he  says  it  is  “a  level,  marshy  region  back  about  thirty 
miles  to  Pembina  mountain,  which  rises  into  a  high  peak  near  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel  and  ranges  off  nearly  south,  forming  the  western  border  of 
the  valley  of  the  Red  river,  and  connects  with  the  highlands  extending  out 
from  lake  Traverse  near  the  headwaters  of  the  St.  Peter’s  river.” 

CAPT.  pope’s  REPORT  OF  THE  PEMBINA  EXPEDITION. 

Capt.  Pope’s  report  of  the  same  expedition  was  addressed  to  Col.  J.  J. 
Abert,  of  the  corps  of  topographical  engineers,  and  was  dated  February  5, 
1850,  transmitted  from  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  printed  by  order  of  the  Senate, 
Ex.  Doc.  No.  42,  31st  Congress,  first  session.  Instead  of  returning  to  Fort 
Snelling  by  the  route  by  which  the  expedition  went  out,  Capt.  Pope  organ¬ 
ized  a  party  which  ascended  the  Red  river  of  the  North  from  Pembina  to 
Otter-tail  lake  in  canoes,  and  thence  reached  the  Mississippi  by  Leaf  and 
Crow  Wing  rivers,  for  the  purpose  of  further  exploration  of  the  country. 
He  places  the  head  of  navigation  at  a  point  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Sioux  Wood  river,  distant  forty  miles  from  the  St.  Peter’s.  ThePomme 
de  Terre  river  he  mentions  under  the  name  Tipsenah,  or  Potato  river. 

“  The  valley  of  the  Red  river  is  entirely  alluvial  in  its  formation,  no 


88 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Pope,  1850. 


rocks  in  place  being  found  in  its  entire  length  within  the  territories  ol  the 
United  States.  It  abounds  with  boulders  or  erratic  blocks  of  granite,  which 
in  all  cases  are  very  much  rounded  by  the  action  of  water.  They  are  most 
abundant  upon  the  highest  ridges  of  the  prairies,  and  cause  all  the  rapids 
in  the  small  streams  tributary  to  the  Red  river,  the  St.  Peter’s  and  Mississ¬ 
ippi.  About  seventy  miles  north  of  our  frontier  (at  Pembina)  a  secondary 
limestone  appears  at  the  falls  of  the  Red  river,  which  is  unquestionably  the 
basis  of  the  whole  valley,  but  at  what  depth  below  the  surface  at  different 
points  it  is  impossible  to  say.  There  are  no  rocks  in  place  found  west  of  the 
Mississippi  along  the  route  pursued  by  the  expedition  to  the  Red  river  of  the 
North,  and  the  geological  features  of  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  have  been 
given  in  the  report  of  Mr.  Nicollet,  published  in  the  year  1842.” 

Capt.  Pope  states  that  there  were  three  routes  by  which  to  reach  the 
valley  of  the  Red  river  of  the  North,  used  by  the  traders  and  trappers  in 
their  annual  pilgrimages  to  the  Mississippi  with  their  peltries.  The  most 
southern  follows  the  valley  of  the  St.  Peter’s,  and  descends  into  the  plains 
of  the  Red  river  near  lake  Traverse.  The  middle  route  leaves  the  Missis¬ 
sippi  at  Sauk  Rapids,  seventy-six  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peter’s, 
and  intersects  the  Red  river  near  its  most  southern  point.  This  is  the  route 
pursued  by  the  expedition.  The  northern  route  follows  for  some  distance 
the  valley  of  Crow  Wing  river,  and  turning  the  northern  extremity  of  Otter 
Tail  lake,  descends  into  the  valley  of  the  Red  river  near  the  mouth  of  Buffalo 
river.  These  routes  were  mere  trails,  and  followed  as  far  as  possible  the 
open  prairie. 

The  further  geographical  facts  which  his  report  contains  can  be  sum¬ 
marized  as  follows:  Between  Pembina  and  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Lake  river 
he  passed  successively  the  Two  rivers,  Park  river,  “  Riviere  au  Marais  No.  1,” 
from  the  east;  Big  Salt  river  and  “Riviere  au  Marais  No.  2,”  frqm  the  west; 
Turtle  river,  and  “Riviere  au  Marais  No.  3”  from  the  east,  and  a  small 
stream  called  “  Coulee*  de  1’ Anglais.”  The  largest  of  these  were  the  “  Riviere 
au  Marais  No.  1,”  and  the  Park,  Big  Salt  and  Turtle  rivers,  which  were 
about  eighteen  yards  wide  and  six  feet  deep,  the  Red  Lake  river  itself  being 
about  fifty  yards  wide  near  its  mouth  and  fourteen  feet  deep,  and  with  a 


♦Coulee  is  often  anglicized  10  couXey  or  coulie.  It  signifies  a  deep  ravine,  and  was  in  common  use  among  the 
eh  voyageurs. 


1850,  Pope.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


89 


more  rapid  current  than  the  Red  river  of  the  North.  Above  the  mouth 
of  the  Sioux  Wood  river  the  Red  river  takes  the  name  of  Otter-tail  Lake 
river,  and,  with  a  constant  depth  of  water  of  four  feet,  becomes  much  more 
tortuous  in  its  course. 

GBN.  POPE’S  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PARK  REGION. 

As  we  approached  the  western  and  northwestern  slope  of  the  Leaf  mountain  at  the  point 
where  the  river  debouches  from  it  into  the  level  plains  to  the  north,  the  current  becomes  sensibly 
more  rapid,  and  the  water  clearer,  until  at  about  fifteen  miles  east  of  the  crossing  of  the  land 
route  we  found  it  necessary  to  use  the  cordelle.  The  banks  become  also  much  higher,  with  a  tract 
of  level,  swampy  land  three-fourths  of  a  mile  in  width  between  them,  the  river  running  from  side 
to  side  through  the  swamp  in  the  most  serpentine  manner.  Small  islands  begin  to  be  numerous, 
and  the  steep  banks  are  perforated,  in  a  thousand  places,  with  clear  cold  springs.  The  woods 
along  the  banks  also  become  much  larger  and  more  dense,  oak  being  the  more  common  tree.  At 
about  thirty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Sioux  Wood  river  the  rapids  commence,  and  are  almost 
continuous  to  Otter-tail  lake.  There  are  two  and  a  half  and  three  feet  of  water  over  them,  and  in 
the  intervening  pools  of  still  water  about  three  and  a  half  feet.  The  bed  of  the  river  is  filled  with 
loose  boulders  of  all  sizes,  and  the  deep  water  assumes  an  exceedingly  crooked  channel  among 
them.  Every  hour  of  our  advance  toward  the  east  increased  the  amount  of  heavy  timber  on  the 
banks,  and  we  began  also  to  perceive,  at  various  distances  on  each  side,  large  groves  of  heavy 
timber  upon  the  borders  of  numerous  lakes,  which  I  have  described  as  forming  so  peculiar  a  fea¬ 
ture  of  the  country  between  the  Mississippi  and  St.  Peter’s. 

We  had  thus  again  entered  the  second  general  division  of  country  I  have  made  in  a  pre¬ 
vious  part  of  this  report,  and  as  we  progressed  toward  the  east  the  lakes  became  much  more 
numerous,  and  the  timber  much  heavier  and  more  abundant.  From  Otter- tail  lake  to  its  entrance 
into  Leaf  mountain,  the  river  passes  through  a  number  of  beautiful  lakes  surrounded  by  rolling 
country,  heavily  timbered,  with  a  depth  of  water  from  nine  to  twenty  feet,  and  filled  with  the 
most  luxuriant  growth  of  wild  rice.  The  largest  and  most  beautiful  of  these  is  lake  Gardiner, 
which  is  within  eight  miles  of  Otter- tail  lake.  On  the  14th  of  September  we  reached  the  mouth  of 
Little  Pelican  river,  which,  at  its  confluence  with  Otter-tail  river,  is  about  twenty  yards  wide,  and 
about  three  feet  deep. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  we  arrived  at  Olter-tail  lake,  and  encamped  near  its  northeast¬ 
ern  extremity,  at  the  remains  of  several  small  trading  houses.  Upon  entering  this  lake  from  the 
southwest,  the  woods  to  the  northeast,  although  very  large,  are  not  visible,  and  it  is  by  far  the 
largest  sheet  of  water  we  had  yet  seen.  It  is  about  ten  miles  in  length  from  southwest  to  north¬ 
east,  and  four  or  five  miles  in  width,  filled  with  fish,  with  clear  pure  water,  with  a  depth  of  twenty 
feet,  and  no  islands.  The  fish  are  white,  and  said  to  be  the  same  known  as  the  white-fish  of  the 
lakes,  so  celebrated  for  their  flavor. 

To  the  west,  northwest  and  northeast,  the  whole  country  is  heavily  timbered  with  oak,  elm, 
ash,  maple,  birch,  bass,  &c.,  &c.  Of  these  the  sugar  maple  is  probably  the  most  valuable,  and  in 
the  vicinity  of  Otter-tail  lake  large  quantities  of  maple  sugar  are  manufactured  by  the  Indians. 
The  wild  rice,  which  exists  in  these  lakes  in  the  most  lavish  profusion,  constitutes  a  most  necessary 
article  of  food  with  the  Indians,  and  is  gathered  in  large  quantities  in  the  months  of  September 
and  October.  To  the  east  the  banks  of  the  lake  are  fringed  with  heavy  oak  and  elm  timber  to 
the  width  of  one  mile.  The  whole  region  of  country  for  fifty  miles  in  all  directions  around  this 
lake,  is  among  the  most  beautiful  and  fertile  in  the  world. 

The  fine  scenery  of  lakes  and  open  groves  of  oak  timber,  of  winding  streams  connecting 
them,  and  beautifully  rolling  country  on  all  sides,  renders  this  portion  of  Minnesota  the  garden 
spot  of  the  Northwest.  It  is  impossible  in  a  report  of  this  character  to  describe  the  feelings  of 
admiration  and  astonishment  with  which  we  first  beheld  the  charming  country  in  the  vicinity  of 
this  lake,  and  were  I  to  give  expression  to  m>  own  feelings  and  opinions  in  reference  to  it,  I  fear 
they  would  be  considered  the  ravings  of  a  visionary  or  an  enthusiast.  * 


90 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Reno,  1853. 


On  the  19th  of  September  we  made  a  portage  of  one  mile  toward  the  east,  to  a  small  round 
lake  about  one  and  a  half  mile  in  diameter.  This  lake  is  completely  isolated,  having  no  apparent 
outlet  or  inlet.  From  the  dip  of  the  land,  and  the  evident  marks  of  an  artificial  obstruction  (said 
to  be  a  beaver  dam)  I  am  quite  satisfied  that  this  lake  at  one  time  discharged  its  waters  into  Otter- 
tail  lake.  The  evidences  of  this  kind  of  obstruction  are  numerous  throughout  this  region  of  country, 
and,  whatever  may  be  the  theory  as  to  the  original  extent  of  the  waters,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  larg¬ 
est  of  the  lakes  has  been  divided  into  several  smaller  ones  by  the  occurrence  of  these  artificial  dams. 

The  small  lake  on  which  we  again  embarked  in  our  canoe  is  about  ten  feet  deep,  the  water 
very  clear,  and  no  doubt  containing  abundance  of  fish. 

A  second  portage  of  about  twenty  yards,  over  a  dam  of  the  same  character,  brought  us  to 
another  lake  of  about  the  same  size;  a  third  portage  of  about  half  a  mile  through  dwarf  oak, 
brought  us  at  the  western  extremity  of  Leaf  lake,  the  source  of  Leaf  river,  which  is  a  tributary  of 
the  Crow  Wing.  We  had  thus,  in  two  hours,  passed  with  our  boat  and  baggage  from  the  waters 
of  the  Red  river  of  the  North,  which  flow  into  the  Hudson’s  bay,  to  the  waters  pouring  into  the 
gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  tributaries  of  the  Red  river  of  the  North,  and  those  of  the  Mississippi  overlap  each  other 
to  such  an  extent  that  I  suppose  there  are  a  thousand  places  where  a  portage  even  shorter  would 
have  enabled  us  to  pass  from  the  waters  of  one  into  those  of  the  other. 

CAPT.  RENO’S  ROAD  FROM  THE  BIG  SIOUX  RIVER  TO  MENDOTA. 


In  1853  Capt.  J.  L.  Reno  executed  a  survey  for  a  military  road  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Big  Sioux  river  to  Mendota.  The  carefully  prepared  and  very 
full  map  transmitted  with  his  report,  seems  not  to  have  been  published. 
After  crossing  the  Des  Moines  river  and  traveling  ten  miles  further,  he 
entered  Minnesota.  This  was  in  the  vicinity  of  lakes  which  he  names 
Spirit,  Okamanpidan,  and  Omanhu,  being,  as  he  supposed,  in  the  Undine 
region  of  Nicollet.  He  crossed  the  Chaniushkah  and  Perch  rivers,  the 
former  a  branch  of  the  Blue  Earth  and  the  latter  of  the  Watonwan.  The 
route  chosen  lay  along  the  west  side  of  the  Blue  Earth  to  its  union  with  the 
Minnesota,  thence  to  Mankato,  and  thence  on  the  Shakopee  stony  terrace  to 
Babcock’s  mill  near  Kasota.  Here  the  road  left  the  river  and  ascended  to  the 
table-land,  nearly  300  feet  above  the  Minnesota,  and  entered  the  “  Big  Woods,” 
owing  to  the  discontinuance  of  the  “second  bottom.”  Opposite  Traverse 
des  Sioux  Capt.  Reno  encountered  Capt.  Dodd  of  Minnesota,  who  had  antici¬ 
pated  the  government  and  had  recently  constructed  a  road  from  St.  Paul  to 
Rockbend  (a  short  distance  above  Traverse  des  Sioux),  thus  much  aiding 
Capt.  Reno  in  getting  through  the  unexplored  labyrinth  of  lakes  and  marshes 
which  there  characterize  the  Big  Woods.  Passing  by  way  of  Eagle  lake, 
Lakeville  and  the  western  border  of  the  Vermilion  prairie  to  the  Mendota 
and  Cannon  river  road,  he  followed  it  for  six  miles  into  Mendota. 


1858,  Daniel?.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


91 


GOVERNMENT  ROADS  IN  MINNESOTA. 

According  to  the  report  of  Capt.  J.  H.  Simpson,*  dated  September  20th, 
1855,  the  following  territorial  roads  were  in  course  of  construction  at  that 
time  by  the  general  government,  viz.,  from  Point  Douglas  to  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Louis  river;  from  Point  Douglas  to  Fort  Ripley;  from  Wabasha 
to  Mendota  ;  from  Mendota  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sioux  river  ;  from  the 
mouth  of  Swan  river  to  Long  Prairie  ;  from  Fort  Ripley  to  Pembina,  and 
from  St.  Anthony  falls  to  Fort  Ridgely.f 

PACIFIC  RAILROAD  SURVEY. 

The  reports  of  explorations  and  surveys  to  ascertain  the  most  practi¬ 
cable  and  economical  route  for  a  railroad  from  the  Mississippi  river  to  the 
Pacific  ocean,  made  in  1853,  1854  and  1855,  contain  a  few  articles  relating 
to  the  natural  features  of  Minnesota.  Such  are  found  in  Yol.  I.,  pp.  39-55, 
on  the  Route  near  the  4:7th  and  49th  parallels  of  north  latitude ;  Vol.  II.,  p.  45,  on 
a  Railroad  from  Puget  sound  via  Smith  pass  to  the  Mississippi  river,  by  Fred. 
W.  Lander;  Yol.  XII.,  Parts  I.  and  II.,  wholly  devoted  to  the  Northern 
Pacific  route,  containing  a  Final  Report  and  Narrative,  by  Gov.  J.  J.  Stevens; 
and  reports  on  Botany  and  Zoology,  by  Drs.  Cooper,  Gray,  Suckley,  and  others. 
The  Botanical  Report  embraces  pp.  7-76,  and  six  plates;  the  Zoological  Report 
has  1-399  pages,  and  seventy-six  plates.  These  Natural  History  papers,  how¬ 
ever,  refer  almost  exclusively  to  the  western  portion  of  the  route,  f 


PERIOD  OF  STATE  EXPLORATION  AND  SURVEY,  1858-1881. 

The  first  legislature  that  met  after  the  admission  of  the  State  into 
the  Union,  gave  due  consideration  to  the  subject  of  a  geological  survey. 
Although  burdened  with  the  legislation  incident  to  the  organization  of  the 
various  institutions  of  a  new  state,  the  evident  importance  of  some  scheme 
for  ascertaining  the  natural  resources  of  the  state,  as  the  first  step  toward 

*Ex.  Docs.  1855-6.  First  Sess.  34th  Congress.  Vol.  1.  Part  II.,  p.  468. 

tThe  report  and  map  of  Capt.  Sully,  of  a  recoimoissance  from  Fort  Ridgely  to  Fort  Pierre  in  1856,  have  not  been 
published.  Capt.  Sully  determined  the  source  of  the  Big  Sioux  river  to  be  in  lake  Katnpeska  (Warren.) 


92 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Wheelock,  i860. 


their  full  development,  was  felt;  and  although  no  general  survey  was  insti¬ 
tuted,  a  law  was  passed  ordering  at  once  a  reprint  of  portions  of  the  geo¬ 
logical  report  of  Wisconsin,*  by  Prof.  Daniels,  for  the  years  1854  and  1858. 
This  was  printed  in  1860,  and  contained  Dr.  D.  F.  Weinland’s  “  sketch  of  the 
lead  region,”  with  notes  on  the  evidences  of  iron  ore,  which  closed  with  a 
statement  of  the  “objects  of  a  geological  and  natural  history  survey,” 
embracing  thirty-four  pages,  dated  Cambridge,  Mass.,  Oct.  27,  1857.  It  also 
embraced  a  paper  read  before  the  American  Geographical  and  Statistical 
Society,  in  1 856,  by  Mr.  A.  S.  Hewitt,  on  the  “  statistics  and  history  of  the 
production  of  iron.” 

JOSEPH  A.  WHEELOCK. 

[First  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Statistics,  or  the  year  ending  January  1st,  I860.] 

The  second  legislature  enacted,  in  February,  1860,  a  law  establishing 
a  bureau  of  statistics,  and  creating  a  Commissioner  of  statistics.  Jlr. 
Wheelock  was  appointed  ;  and  such  was  his  indefatigable  industry  and  his 
knowledge  of  the  state,  that  on  July  1st  of  the  same  year  he  rendered  a 
voluminous  report  “for  the  year  ending  January  1st,  1860.”  This  was  the 
first  official  presentation  of  her  natural  capabilities  on  the  part  of  the  new 
state  of  Minnesota;  and  it  is  not  saying  too  much  to  assert  that  it  has  been 
one  of  the  most  powerful  instruments  in  recommending  the  state  to  eastern 
capitalists  and  farmers,  and  in  hastening,  as  well  as  directing,  the  almost 
unprecedented  growth  that  she  has  maintained  from  that  time.  This  docu¬ 
ment  deals  not  with  the  discovery  of  new  facts,  or  the  description  of  new 
regions,  or  the  establishment  ot  new  principles,  but  it  is  a  forcible  presenta¬ 
tion,  in  easy  grouping,  of  those  known  natural  features  and  resources  of  the 
state,  in  a  harmonious  and  terse  yet  comprehensive  review,  which  give  the 
state  a  commanding  pre-eminence  in  the  Union  in  point  of  agriculture,  and 
promise  for  it  a  corresponding  position  in  respect  of  population,  manufac¬ 
tures,  wealth  and  general  intelligence.  The  statistics  proper,  presented  by 
the  Commissioner,  are  preceded  by  an  able  essay  on  the  geographical  posi- 

i 

tion,  physical  geography,  agricultural  capabilities  and  climatology  of  the 
state.  Chapters  are  also  added  on  the  condition  and  progress  of  agriculture, 
commerce,  railroads,  manufactures  and  public  lands. 


“Minnesota  was  formely  embraced  in  the  territory  of  Wisconsin. 


1861,  Anderson  and  Clark.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


98 


Mr.  Wheelock’s  second  report  as  Commissioner  of  statistics,  rendered 
December  1st,  1861,  is  very  similar  in  scope  and  character  to  that  of  1860, 
with  the  added  value  of  the  U.  S.  census  returns  for  1860. 

ANDERSON  AND  CLARK. 

The  second  legislature  also  passed,  March  10th,  1860,  a  concurrent  resolu¬ 
tion  providing  for  “Commissioners”  to  report  on  the  geology  of  the  state, 
and  to  submit  a  plan  for  a  thorough  geological  survey  of  the  state.  The 
commissioners  appointed  were  Charles  L.  Anderson  and  Thomas  Clark. 
These  gentlemen  submitted  separate  reports  under  the  date  of  January  25th, 
1861,  making  an  octavo  pamphlet  of  twenty-six  pages.  It  embraces  a 

.4  .  (  •  '  •  V  V  *  t 

chapter  on  the  general  geological  features  of  Minnesota,  and  one  on  a  plan 
for  a  geological  survey,  by  Mr.  Anderson ;  also  one  by  Mr.  Clark  on  some 
general  climatic,  topographical  and  geological  features  of  the  north¬ 
eastern  portion  of  the  state.  Governor  Ramsey  discouraged  the  inaugura¬ 
tion  of  a  geological  survey  at  that  time,  knowing  that  the  cost  is  not  only 
always  great,  but  always  greater  than  was  expected,  and  believing  that  the 
actual  material  advantages  to  a  state  from  such  surveys  are  commonly 

t 

overrated.*  He  considered  that  the  new  state  had  a  sufficient  burden  in  the 
establishment  and  support  of  its  charitable  and  educational  institutions, 
but  hoped  that  when  the  state  had  reached  that  point  when  she  “  could 
expend  fifty  or  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  this  one  department  ol 
science,”  such  a  survey  would  be  undertaken.  He  also  recommended 
the  commencement  of  a  collection  of  state  minerals  at  the  seat  of  govern¬ 
ment,  as  an  index  to  the  extent  of  its  mineral  wealth  and  resources,  which 
would  thus  become  a  matter  for  investigation. 

Mr.  Anderson’s  report  summarizes  briefly  some  of  the  chapters  of  Dr. 
Owen’s  report  on  Wisconsin,  Iowa  and  Minnesota,  and  closes  with  some 
very  pertinent  remarks  regarding  the  plan,  object  and  cost  ol  a  geological 
survey. 

The  objects  of  a  geological  survey  may  be  stated  very  briefly,  as  follows  :  It  consists  in  placing 
before  the  people  of  the  state,  in  the  most  available  and  intelligible  form,  all  the  information  that 
can  be  obtained  in  regard  to  the  rocks,  minerals  and  soils.  Also  to  this  might  be  added  informa¬ 
tion,  especially  of  a  practical  character,  in  regard  to  the  vegetables  and  animals  peculiar  to  the 
state. 


^Message  communicating  to  the  House  of  Representatives  the  reports  of  Anderson  and  Clark. 


1)4 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Hanchett  and  Clark,  1864. 


Whatever  part  of  the  survey  is  undertaken  and  reported  on,  should  be  of  the  most  substantial 
kind.  All  that  is  possible  for  human  knowledge  to  accomplish  should  be  accomplished.  There 
should  be  no  slighting  of  the  work — no  necessity  for  tearing  down  and  building  up  again. 

There  is  a  vast  accum  illation  of  experience  before  us.  We  have  the  history  of  surveys  in  other 
states.  If  we  are  wise  we  can  profit  by  what  has  been  in  many  instances  their  loss.  We  can  see 
where  they  have  made  gross  mistakes  in  the  management  of  their  affairs.  It  would  be  useless  to 
enumerate  their  errors.  One,  however,  that  I  would  not  be  doing  my  duty  to  pass  in  silence,  is 
that  of  allowing  party  prejudices  to  interfere  in  any  manner  with  a  survey  of  this  kind.  I  might 
mention  some  of  our  neighboring  states,  that  have  had  sad  experience  in  this  respect.  But  that 
would  be  personal  and  might  give  offence.  I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  however,  that  rewarding  a 
political  leader  with  the  office  of  state  geologist,  and  a  liberal  yearly  salary,  when  he  is  totally 
incompetent  for  the  task,  is  a  thing  that  has  been ,  but  I  trust  will  net  be  again. 

As  to  the  cost  of  such  a  survey,  the  strictest  economy,  consistent  with  the  attainment  of  the 
object  sought,  should  be  rigidly  pursued.  If  such  were  the  course  adopted,  after  the  first  year  the 
survey,  instead  of  being  an  expense,  would  be  remunerative,  at  least  indirectly  so.  Attention 
would  be  called  to  our  mineral  resources,  and  the  erection  of  manufactories, — it  may  be  of  iron, 
copper  or  lead. — would  soon  engage  the  attention  of  capitalists,  and  an  inflow  of  population  would 
be  the  result,  more  than  enough  to  repay  the  state  the  small  appropriation  made  each  year  for  the 
survey.  But  let  us  look  at  the  subject  in  a  more  general  way. 

When  we  reflect  on  the  amount  of  money  that  goes  out  of  our  state  each  year  for  articles 
that,  with  a  little  encouragement,  might  just  as  well  be  manufactured  at  home,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  we  hear  so  continuously  the  cry  of  “  hard  times.”  With  as  good  iron  ore  as  the  world  can 
produce,  the  United  States  still  imports  three  million  dollars  worth  of  that  article ;  Minnesota 
receiving  her  share.  Copper  is  sent  from  lake  Superior  to  England,  there  to  be  manufactured,  and 
returned  to  us  at  a  cost  of  more  than  two  hundred  per  cent.  With  a  deposit  of  coal  in  North 
America  twenty  times  the  area  of  all  the  known  deposits  of  the  eastern  continent,  and  almost 
thirty-five  times  as  large  an  area  in  the  United  States  as  Great  Britain’s  coal  area,  yet  the  Atlantic 
cities  import  annually  285,869  tons ;  and  all  these  things  because  our  home  resources  are  not  opened 
up,  and  because  there  is  not  sufficient  encouragement  to  our  own  enterprise.  What  might  be  said 
of  the  United  States,  or  any  one  of  the  states,  in  this  respect,  might  also  be  said  of  Minnesota. 

So  much  in  regard  to  “counting  the  cost.”  Instead  of  the  survey,  if  properly  conducted, 
running  the  state  in  debt,  it  will  be  a  means  most  potent  in  relieving  her  of  financial  embarrassment, 
and  causing  a  feeling  of  independence,  in  being  able  to  exist  by  her  own  internal  richness. 

HANCHETT  AND  CLARK. 

Nothing  seems  to  have  been  done,  after  the  publication  of  the  report  of 
Anderson  and  Clark,  respecting  a  geological  survey  of  the  state,  till  the 
meeting  of  the  sixth  legislature  (1804),  when  the  subject  was  revived,  and 
resulted  in  the  passage  of  a  resolution  authorizing  the  Governor  to  appoint 
and  direct  a  state  geologist.  Dr.  Aug.  H.  Hanchett  was  appointed,  and 
Thomas  Clark  was  his  assistant.  The  report  of  Dr.  Hanchett,  dated  New 
York,  November  13th,  1864,  covers  eight  pages,  and  embraces  little  of  value 
to  the  state.  He  seems  to  have  visited  the  shore  of  lake  Superior,  and 
coasted  as  tar  as  Pigeon  river,  but  to  little  purpose. 

Mr.  Clark,  who  accompanied  him,  was  much  more  industrious  in  gath¬ 
ering  facts  and  making  observations.  His  report  is  valuable ;  it  contains 
seventy  pages,  with  chapters  on — 


1865,  Karnes.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


95 


The  Physical  Geography  of  the  district  embraced  in  that  portion  of  the 
state  bordering  on  lake  Superior.  A  large  share  of  the  geological  report 
of  Dr.  Owen  is  devoted  to  this  district ;  the  maps  accompanying  that  report 
were  constructed  previous  to  the  linear  surveys  ;  Mr.  Clark  locates  many 
of  the  points  of  interest,  giving  their  section,  township  and  range,  especially 
the  entrance  of  rivers,  and  prominent  points  or  bays  of  the  coast. 

Meteorology  of  the  district,  embracing  the  carefully  reduced  results  of 
one  full  year’s  observations,  and  of  several  concurrent  and  parallel  months. 

A  list  of  plants  and  trees  of  the  district,  observed  mainly  between  St. 
Paul  and  lake  Superior,  on  the  meridian  16°  west  from  Washington  ;  the 
northern  and  southern  limits  of  species  being  noted. 

H.  H.  EAMES. 

The  following  year,  under  direction  of  Governor  Miller,  Mr.  H.  H. 
Eames  continued  the  prosecution  of  the  geological  survey  of  the  state,  and 
his  first  report,  without  date,  was  printed  in  1866.  Mr.  Eames’  labor  was 
essentially  “  prospecting.”  All  other  objects  but  a  vigorous  hunt  for 
“mineral,”  were  ignored.  His  first  report  is  a  pamphlet  of  twenty-three 
pages,  and  throughout  it  bears  evidence  that  the  writer  was  convinced,  a 
priori ,  that  the  state  of  Minnesota  was  one  of  the  richest  mineral  countries 
in  the  world.  He  discovered  gold  and  silver,  but  could  not  yet  state  the 

1 

“angle”  at  which  veins  containing  them  occur,  but  had  the  “impression 
that  it  wojild  be  found  to  be  about  85°. ”  These  “discoveries”  led  to  a  gold¬ 
mining  fever,  centering  011  Vermilion  lake,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
state,  in  which  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  were  squandered 
in  the  next  two  years.  Several  companies  began  mining,  hauling  their 
machinery  and  supplies  from  Duluth  at  great  expense.  Unscrupulous, 
“assayers,”  “prospectors”  and  “geologists”  fostered  the  excitement.  A 
town  of  mushroom  growth  sprang  up  near  the  south  side  of  the  lake.  A 
would-be  geologist  and  “spiritualist,”  who  subsequently  aspired  to  the 
position  of  “peat-commissioner”  to  the  state  of  Minnesota,  located  the 
precious  lodes  at  Vermilion  lake  by  the  necromancy  of  spiritualistic  medi¬ 
ums.  The  fever  spread.  The  state  geologist  himself  was  chief  owner  and 
operator  of  one  of  the  mines.  The  whole  thing  very  soon  collapsed,  and 


96 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Eames,  1866. 


in  a  few  years  thereafter  but  one  white  man,  a  government  officer,  could  he 
found  in  the  whole  region.  Respecting  the  lignites  of  southwestern  Minne¬ 
sota,  Mr.  Eames  says  that  he  has  no  hesitation  in  recording  his  conviction 
that  large  deposits  of  good  coal  will  be  found  there,  “the  stratum  having  a 
course  southeast  of  the  Big  Cottonwood  river,  thence  northwest  to  the 
Redwood  river,  crossing  the  Minnesota  river  at  or  near  that  point,  also 
west  of  the  Cottonwood,  and  having  a  hearing  west  of  north.  The  out¬ 
crop  of  the  formation  can  only  be  seen  at  a  few  points,  as  it  has  many 
local  upheavals,  and  corresponding  depressions.” 

Mr.  Eames  mentioned  the  iron  ore  at  Vermilion  lake,  in  the  vicinity  ot 
the  stream  known  as  Two  rivers.  He  describes  it  as  lying  in  two  ridges, 
nearly  parallel,  one  being  of  haematite  with  jasperoid,  quartzose  and 
serpentine  rocks,  and  the  other  of  magetite  of  very  good  quality,  the  latter 
being  north  of  the  former.  The  iron  is  said  to  he  exposed  at  two  or  three 
points,  between  fifty  and  sixty  feet  in  thickness,  presenting  quite  a  mural 
face. 

Passing  down  the  lake  Superior  shore  as  far  as  Temperance  river,  he 
has  a  few  words  concerning  the  metalliferous  character  of  the  rocks  at 
numerous  places. 

Mr.  Eames’  second  report  purports  to  give  “reconnoissance  in  detail,  of 
the  northern,  middle  and  other  counties  in  Minnesota,”  comprising  fifty-eight 
octavo  pages.  After  presenting  a  brief  outline  of  the  different  formations  or 
systems  of  rocks  that  form  the  crust  of  the  earth,  he  adds  remarks  on  the 
igneous,  the  coal-bearing  and  the  sandstone  and  limestone  rocks  of  the  state; 
also  on  peat;  on  mineral  and  fissure  veins;  on  agricultural  chemistry;  on  a 
geological  reconnoissance  “in  detail”,  of  the  counties  of  St.  Louis,  Lake, 
Itasca,  Cass,  Todd,  Otter  Tail,  Douglas,  Stearns,  Morrison,  Benton,  Sher¬ 
burne,  Redwood,  Cottonwood,  Ramsey  and  Washington,  together  with 
results  of  assays  and  thermometrical  and  barometrical  observations  in  the 
months  of  June,  July  and  August.  He  describes  Pokegama  falls  as 
formed  by  an  exposure  of  Potsdam  sandstone  (quartzyte),  or  the  lowest  of  the 
Lower  Silurian  rocks.  It  presents  a  mural  exposure  of  twenty  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  stream,  and  one-eighth  of  a  mile  in  length,  having  a  course 
15°  south  of  west.  A  similar  fall  is  described  on  Prairie  river,  six  or  seven 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  97 

1865,  Hall.] 

miles  above  its  point  of  union  with  the  Mississippi,  where  he  notes  an  uplift 
of  igneous  and  metamorphosed  rocks,  consisting  of  granite,  coarse  and  fine, 
“quartzyte  or  Potsdam  sandstone,”  and  iron  ore,  the  water  falling  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet.  This  iron  ore  occurs  also  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river.  At  several  places  above  these  falls  the  same  rocks  are  noted  in  place, 
particularly  at  the  second  falls  and  in  a  ridge  near  the  head  of  the  lake 
about  a  sixth  of  a  mile  from  the  south  shore.  The  iron  ores  here  seen,  he 
found  to  afford  from  fifty  to  sixty  per  cent,  metallic  iron.  He  reports  the 
same  kind  of  drift  limestone  fragments  on  the  upper  Mississippi,  about 
Pokegama  falls,  and  on  the  St.  Louis  river,  as  in  Otter  Tail  county  and  the 
Red  river  valley. 

Mr.  Richard  M.  Eames,  his  assistant,  makes  further  statements  concern¬ 
ing  the  quartz  veins  at  Vermilion  lake  and  their  ramifications  through  the 
talcose  slates,  concluding  with  the  statement  that  he  helives  that  the  “  hid¬ 
den  sources  of  wealth,  lying  buried  in  the  strata,  would  justify  the  invest¬ 
ment  of  capital.” 

Mr.  Eames’  survey  soon  fell  into  disrepute,  and  further  appropriations 
were  not  made  by  the  legislature. 

JAMES  HALL  IN  MINNESOTA. 

In  1865  the  state  legislature  appropriated  two  thousand  dollars  to  Mr. 
N.  C.  D.  Taylor  for  the  exploration  of  the  mineral  lands  in  the  valley  of  the 
St.  Croix  river,  lying  in  the  state  of  Minnesota.  A  report  of  this  work 
was  rendered  to  the  governor  January  27th,  1866.  It  consists  of  about 
one  page  octavo,  and  states  that  he  had  found  indications  ot  copper  on 
what  is  known  as  the  “  Kettle  river  trap  range,”  having  expended  a  con¬ 
siderable  sum  in  examinations  sufficient  to  show  it  to  be  “  very  promising 
for  a  rich  paying  vein.”  He  also  mentions  a  copper  vein  crossing  the  St. 
Croix  river  below  the  mouth  of  Kettle  river,  and  one  on  Snake  river ;  also 
one  at  Taylor’s  Falls,  on  which  he  had  sunk  a  shaft,  about  forty  feet  in 
depth,  and  a  second  one  three  or  four  hundred  feet  from  the  first  about 
twenty-two  feet  in  depth.  The  most  of  the  rock  of  the  St.  Croix  valley 
above  Taylor’s  Falls,  he  found  to  consist  of  different  kinds  of  trap  rocks, 
with  belts  oi  conglomerate  running  through  them  from  northeast  to  south- 


7 


98 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Hall,  1865. 


west,  the  conglomerate  being  particularly  abundant  on  the  Kettle  river 
range. 

As  corroborative  of  his  own  opinions,  ]\£r.  Taylor  incorporates  the 
views  of  Prof.  James  Hall  who  was,  presumably,  employed  to  make  a 
reconnoissance  of  the  region  in  1865.  Prof.  Hall  is  reported  as  saying  that 
the  Taylor’s  Falls  vein  is  a  very  distinct  vein,  quite  equal,  in  what  it  shows, 
to  many  of  the  best  paying  veins  of  lake  Superior;  and  of  the  Kettle  river 
vein,  that  so  far  as  can  be  seen  of  it,  it  is  even  more  promising  than  the 
one  at  Taylor’s  Falls,  or  the  most  promising  that  has  been  found  in  the 
country.  He  regarded  the  whole  St.  Croix  region  as  worthy  of  further 
exploration  for  this  metal.* 

In  the  same  year  Prof.  Hall  visited  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state, 
his  object  being  to  ascertain  the  age  of  the  coal  that  was  then  being 
explored  on  the  Waraju  river.  The  next  year  an  interesting  paper  was 
published  by  him  “  On  the  geology  of  some  portions  of  Minnesota  from  St. 
Paul  to  the  western  part  of  the  state.”  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia.  The  following  points  are 
made  in  this  paper: 

1.  The  Lower  Magnesian  and  the  Potsdam  are  seen  in  the  bluffs  of 
the  river  to  Mankato. 

2.  A  small  portion  of  the  St.  Peter  sandstone  was  seen  at  St.  Peter, 
still  preserved  above  the  Lower  Magnesian. 

3.  The  rock  at  Pipestone  he  regards  as  Huronian. 

4.  At  Redwood  falls,  and  at  other  places,  he  mentions  the  “steatitic 
or  glauconitic”  beds  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  the  granite  under 
the  Cretaceous. 

5.  The  limestone  and  green  marls  at  NewUlm  he  regards  Cretaceous. 

6.  The  red  marls  and  sandstone  underlying,  he  thinks  “are  not  older 
than  the  Triassic.” 

7.  He  suggests  the  former  probable  continuity  of  the  western  and  east¬ 
ern  Cretaceous  areas  with  the  southern  prolongation  of  the  same  rocks  up 
the  Mississippi  valley. 

8.  Suggests  the  parallelism  of  the  red  marls  and  ferruginous  sandstones 

*A  hasty  statement  has  been  made  by  Prof.  R.  D  Irving  in  the  Transactions  of  the  American  Institute  of  Mining 
Engineers,  Vol  VIII,  that  this  copper  region  had  not  been  recognized  by  the  Minnesota  geologists,  but  was  first  brought 
to  light  by  himself.  Dr.  Shumard  describes  the  same  rocks,  and  Chas.  Whittlesey  says  they  are  the  “dying  out  in  that 
direction  of  the  great  Kewenaw  range.” 


1864,  Whittlesey.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


99 


at  Winkelmann’s,  near  New  Ulm,  with  the  gypsiferous  deposits  in  the  valley 
of  the  Des  Moines. 

9.  Regards  the  Coteau  des  Prairies  as  made  by  a  broad  synclinal  in 
the  quartzyte  outcropping  at  Redstone,  and  illustrates  it  by  a  diagram.* 

CHARLES  WHITTLESEY  IN  NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 

Mr.  Whittlesey,  who  had  been  employed  on  the  survey  of  Dr.  Owen,  made 
further  examinations  in  the  state  for  private  parties  in  1859  and  1864,  and  his 
geological  notes,  with  illustrations,  were  printed  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  1866, 
by  order  of  the  legislature  of  Minnesota.  This  little  pamphlet  contains  much 
information  concerning  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  not  to  be  found  in 
any  earlier  publication.  His  ascent  of  the  Big  Fork  river  was  made  in  com¬ 
pany  with  Dr.  Norwood,  when  engaged  on  the  survey  of  Dr.  Owen,  in  Sep¬ 
tember,  1848,  and  his  description  of  that  stream  has  but  little  that  is  not 
found  in  the  report  of  Norwood. 

Mr.  Whittlesey  was  the  first  to  make  observations  on  the  drift-deposits 
under  the  guide  of  any  adequate  conception  or  theory  of  their  origin.  Dr. 
Owen’s  survey  ignored  this  subject  entirely,  or  incidentally  grouped  the 
phenomena  under  the  head  of  “agricultural  capabilities”,!  while  Mr.  Eames 
was  too  much  engaged  in  a  mineral  hunt  to  give  them  any  consideration, 
except  as  impediments  to  “prospecting.”  Whittlesey’s  grouping  of  “glacial 
etchings”  proves  the  direction  of  the  glacial  movement  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  state  to  have  been  from  the  northeast,  and  he  unhesitatingly  ascribes 
all  the  phenomena  in  North  America  to  the  agency  of  glaciers,  placing  the 
southern  limit  of  the  movement  in  New  Jersey,  northern  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  Iowa.J  The  correctness  of  this 
early  prognostication  has  been  strikingly  verified  by  late  explorations  in 
several  of  the  states  named.  He  could  see  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any 
changes  of  level  of  the  country  have  taken  place  since  the  era  of  the  drift. 


*It  is  singular  that  this  theoretical  explanation  of  the  Coteau  should  have  been  incorporated  on  the  late  geological 
map  of  the  United  States,  by  Profs.  Hitchcock  and  Blake,  accompanying  the  ninth  United  States  census  report,  rather 
than  the  positive  statements  of  all  other  observers  who  have  crossed  it,  to  the  effect  that  no  rocky  outcrops  are  to  be 
found  If  the  Huronian  rocks  underlie  the  Coteau,  they  would  certainly  appear  at  the  surface  at  a  great  many  places. 
Prof.  Hind  visited  this  ridge  near  the  49th  parallel ;  so  did  Dr.  Owen  ;  Mr.  Peatherstonhaugh  had  described  it;  Keating 
had  given  us  information  concerning  it;  Nicollet’s  opinions  were  on  record.  These  all  testify  that  it  is  made  up  of  drift. 
Probably  the  basis  rock  is  Cretaceous,  as  that  formation  appears  on  both  sides  in  the  adjoining  streams.  The  examina¬ 
tions  of  the  survey  have  established  the  “erratic”  nature  of  the  whole  range.  Compare  Bulletins  of  the  Minnesota  Acad 
my,  Vol.  I.  p.  100. 

fCompare  Owen’s  description  of  the  “southern  confines  of  the  Coteau.”  Introduction,  pp.  xxxv.  and  xxxvi. 

^Compare  Fresh-water  glacial  drift  of  the  Northwestern  states.  Smithsonian  Contributions,  May,  1864. 


100 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Warren,  1868. 


The  lake  Superior  trap  rocks,  carrying  native  copper,  he  assigned  to 
the  age  of  the  Potsdam.*  Those  carrying  the  sulphurets  of  copper,  he 
placed  in  a  different,  and  older  system,  the  Huronian,  after  the  generaliza¬ 
tion  of  Bigsby  and  Logan.  The  quartzyte  at  Pokegama  falls,  he  styled 
Potsdam. 

With  the  exception  of  occasional  misapprehensions  of  minerals,  Mr. 
Whittlesey’s  brief  notes,  with  the  accompanying  rough  illustrations,  consti¬ 
tute  a  valuable  and  correct  geological  epitome  of  the  northern  part  of  Min¬ 
nesota,  from  Encampment  river  on  the  east  to  the  Grande  Fourche,  or  Big 
Fork  river,  on  the  west.  It  embraces  also  short  chapters  on  the  general 
geology,  the  phenomena  of  the  drift  period,  general  elevations  in  Minne¬ 
sota,  fluctuations  in  the  level  of  the  lakes,  the  climate,  and  the  cost  of 
mining  copper. 

GENERAL  G.  K.  WARREN  ON  THE  MINNESOTA  VALLEY. 

The  United  States  government  detailed  General  Warren  in  1866,  for 
the  survey  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin  rivers  with  a 
view  to  the  improvement  of  navigation  and  the  construction  of  bridges  ♦ 
which  should  afford  the  least  possible  obstruction  to  navigation.  The  work 
on  the  Minnesota  was  continued  in  1867  and  1868.  In  the  annual  report 
of  the  Chief  of  Engineers  for  1868,  is  found  General  Warren’s  first 
published  general  expression  of  his  views  concerning  the  physical  features 
of  the  Minnesota  valley,  although  they  were  in  part  presented  in  Sen. 
Ex.  Doc.  No.  58,  39th  Congress,  2nd  Session,  dated  January  21,  1867. 
His  final  report,  in  extenso,  was  not  rendered  till  1874,  owing  to  the  inter¬ 
vention  of  other  duties,  and  is  to  be  found  in  the  appendix  to  the  report  of 
the  Chief  of  Engineers  for  that  year.f  Part  II  of  this  report  is  an  essay 
concerning  important  physical  features  exhibited  in  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota 
river ,  and  upon  their  signification.  This  is  illustrated  by  several  maps,  plates 
and  diagrams,  and  accompanied  by  a  detailed  description  of  the  valley  by 
his  assistant,  Mr.  C.  E.  Davis. 

The  main  points  brought  out  in  this  essay  are  ;  1st,  that  the  Minnesota 
valley  was  formerly  the  course  of  a  great  river;  2nd,  that  this  river 

*On  page  7  Mr.  Whittlesey  makes  the  following  remark  concerning  the  rocks  of  the  Mesabi :  “  In  many  cases  the 
syenite  and  granite  appear  to  be  more  recent  than  the  metamorphic  slates,  having  all  the  appearance  of  intrusive  rocks.” 

fSee  also  the  American  Naturalist,  November  1868,  for  a  summary  of  a  paper  read  by  Gen.  Warren  before  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 


1868,  Warren.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


101 


drained  the  valley  of  lake  Winnipeg ;  3rd,  that  lake  Winnipeg  for¬ 
merly  had  a  great  extension  southward,  according  to  the  opinion  ol 
Prof.  Henry  Youle  Hind  ;*  and  4th,  that  the  most  plausible  hypothesis  to 
account  for  the  former  drainage  of  the  Winnipeg  basin  along  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  for  the  change  to  the  present  outlet  by  Nelson  river,  is 
a  subsidence  of  the  northern  part  ot  the  valley  and  an  elevation  of  the 
southern  part,  extending  through  a  vast  period  of  time,  and  probably  still 
going  on.  He  refers  to  the  hypothesis  that  as  the  glacial  epoch  tempered 
off  gradually  into  the  present  epoch,  there  might  have  been  a  long  time 
when  the  glaciers  had  sufficient  extension  southward  to  close  the  outlet  to 
Hudson’s  bay,  which  on  the  further  recession  of  the  ice,  would  be  opened 
and  the  lake  drained  off  toward  the  north.  This  hypothesis  he  regards  as 
“  unsupported,  and  barren  of  any  fruit.”  He  thinks  it  does  not  explain  any 
phenomena  presented  by  other  lake-basins  and  water-courses  in  North 
America,  nor  enable  us  to  predict  what  probable  results  we  should  find  in 
other  pegions,  and  thus  intelligently  direct  further  investigation.  He  then 
mentions  topographic  features  reported  at  numerous  points  in  the  United 
States  and  in  the  British  possessions  in  America  which  seem  to  confirm  the 
former  hypothesis ;  and  closes  with  a  map  showing  a  restoration  of  the 
ancient  basin  of  the  Mississippi.  In  this  the  source  is  shown  to  be  a  stream 
joining  lake  Winnipeg  from  the  northwest.  Lake  Winnipeg  is  enlarged  to 
exceed  the  area  of  lake  Superior,  extending  to  Big  Stone  lake,  having  its 
outlet  by  way  of  the  Minnesota  into  the  Mississippi ;  while  at  the  same 
time  an  arm  of  the  gulf  of  Mexico  brings  salt  water  up  the  great  valley  as 
far  as  the  parallel  on  which  Chicago  lies,  and  farther  still  up  the  Missouri 
valley,  the  Ohio  itself  being  an  eastward  extension  from  this  arm  nearly 
to  Pittsburg. 

In  the  proper  place  this  subject  will  be  fully  discussed.  It  is  only 
necessary  to  say  here  that  the  investigations  of  the  survey,  while  sustain¬ 
ing  all  Gen.  Warren’s  observations  respecting  the  extension  of  a  lake  for¬ 
merly  occupying  the  Winnipeg  and  Red  river  valley,  and  the  large  size  of 
the  ancient  Minnesota,  warrant  the  hypothesis  which  he  rejects,  rather 
than  the  one  which  he  adopts. 

*Narrative  of  the  Canadian  Red  river  exploring  expedition  of  1857,  and  of  the  Assiniboine  and  Saskatchewan 
exploring  expedition  of  1858.  By  Henry  Youle  Hind.  Two  volumes. 


102 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Hurlbut,  1871. 


HURLBUT  ON  THE  GEOLOGY  OF  SOUTHERN  MINNESOTA. 

In  1S71  Mr.  W.  I).  Hurlbut,  of  Rochester,  Minnesota,  contributed  a  series 
of  papers  to  the  Minnesota  Teacher  on  the  geology  of  southern  Minnesota, 
which  were  subsequently  issued  together  as  a  pamphlet.  These  papers 
supply  a  lack,  which  was  a  conspicuous  and  remarkable  one,  in  the  geologi¬ 
cal  literature  of  the  state — considering  the  general  accuracy  and  fullness  ot 
Owen’s  report — since  no  geologist  had  before  penetrated  this  part  of  Min¬ 
nesota,  and  nobody  had  called  attention  to  its  marked  topography  or  to  its 
geology.  Owen’s  parties  passed  around  it.  They  ascended  the  Mississippi, 
the  Minnesota  and  the  Des  Moines,  but  the  valleys  of  the  Root  and  the 
Zumbro  were  not  examined.  It  is  in  these  valleys,  and  particularly  on  the 
upper  tributaries,  that  the  upper  parts  of  the  Silurian  and  the  Devonian 
are  found  exposed. 

Taking  the  Mississippi  river,  and  the  measurements  and  descriptions  ot 
Dr.  Owen,  as  initial  points,  Mr.  Hurlbut  follows  up  the  streams  coming  from 
the  west,  across  the  strike  of  the  formations,  noting  the  changes  as  they 
occur  in  the  strata,  and  stating  their  main  characteristics  and  thicknesses. 
He  thus  makes  out  the  Potsdam,  the  Lower  Magnesian,  St.  Peter  sandstone, 
Trenton  limestone  flags,  Hudson  River  shales,  argillaceous  shales  which  he 
regards  of  the  age  of  the  Clinton,  and  the  Devonian.  He  also  outlines  their 
geographical  extent,  and  states  some  of  their  topographic  features.  His 
identifications,  being  the  first  recorded  attempt  to  parallelize  those  strata 
with  any  recognized  base  of  nomenclature  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  and 
dependent  for  the  greater  part  on  lithological  features,  were  subject  to  such 
changes  as  a  study  of  the  fossils  might  require.  His  Hudson  River  shales 
were  restricted  to  the  very  base  of  the  rocks  of  that  formation,  and  desig¬ 
nated  “  Hudson  River  oil  shales,”  having  a  maximum  thickness  of  fifteen  feet. 
They  are  the  “  Green  shales”  of  the  early  reports  of  progress  of  the  survey, 
and  probably  belong  to  the  Hudson  River  group.  His  shaly  limestone  (Clin¬ 
ton)  is  the  upper  part  of  the  Hudson  River,  becoming  in  some  places  a  very 
calcareous  member  almost  without  shales.  His  Devonian,  in  which  the 
arenaceous  parts  were  supposed  to  be  Schoharie  sandstone,  is  the  buff  mag¬ 
nesian  limestone  of  the  Galena.  The  elevated  land,  further  southwest  from 
the  strike  of  the  last,  in  Mower  and  Fillmore  counties,  he  suggests  may  con- 


1871,  Kloos.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


103 


tain  higher  formations,  such  as  the  Iowa  Subcarboniferous  formation,  but 
in  the  absence  of  exposures  of  the  rock  nothing  could  be  ascertained  with¬ 
out  artificial  excavations. 

The  discussion  of  the  “Tertiary  phenomena”  by  Mr.  Hurlbut  embraces 
Prof.  J.  D.  Whitney’s  view  of  the  origin  of  the  driftless  area  in  Iowa,  and 
the  opinions  of  Gen.  G.  K.  Warren  concerning  the  former  direction  of  drain¬ 
age  of  the  Minnesota  and  upper  Mississippi  “westward  into  the  Cretaceous 
ocean,”  in  which  he  groups  in  a  new  and  interesting  manner  many  topo¬ 
graphic  and  hypsometric  facts,  going  to  show  that  the  interior  of  the  state 
is  a  basin  whose  greatest  depression  is  along  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota, 
from  its  source  to  the  head  of  lake  Pepin.  “  The  supposed  surface  and  shore 
line  of  this  lake  basin  is  very  well  indicated,  in  many  places,  at  about  one 
thousand  feet  elevation  above  the  sea,  by  clay  terraces  and  bluffs,  containing 
trunks  and  branches  of  trees,  lignite  clay  and  other  lacustrine  formations.” 

KLOOS’  GEOLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS  IN  MINNESOTA. 

In  the  same  journal,  in  1871.  Mr.  J.  H.  Kloos  of  St.  Paul,  records  sundry 
geological  observations  made  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state.  He  sketches 
the  country  briefly  along  the  line  of  the  new  railroad  from  lake  Superior  to 
the  Mississippi  river  at  St.  Paul,  noting  most  closely  the  region  of  the  slates 
on  the  St.  Louis  river,  which  he  assigns  to  the  Huronian  formation ;  the 
conglomerates  and  red  sandstones  he  assigns  to  the  Potsdam,  the  latter  being 
unconformable  on  the  former,  with  a  dip  six  or  seven  degrees  toward  the 
south  ;  and  suggests  that  beds  of  iron  ore  underlie  the  slates  of  the  St.  Louis 
river,  as  they  do  the  slates  of  the  Marquette  iron  range  in  Michigan ;  the 
haematitic  and  magnetic  iron  ore  at  Vermilion  lake  being  perhaps  in  that 
horizon,  and  thus  the  lowest  member  of  the  Huronian  formation. 

In  respect  to  the  rocks  at  Duluth  he  describes,  in  general  terms,  the 
“  Duluth  granite,”  as  a  coarse  crystalline  rock  consisting  principally  of  a 
grayish-white  feldspar  showing  three  distinct  cleavage  planes,  two  of  them 
being  nearly  at  right  angles  ;  one  plane  has  a  glassy  lustre,  and  the  other  a 
brilliant  pearly  lustre,  with  striae  which  he  regards  as  an  indication  of 
labradorite.  Another  constituent  he  named  diallage,  or  hypersthene  ;  and 
another  magnetic  iron.  The  rock  he  pronounces  hyperyte,  provisionally. 
He  mentions  the  first  rocks  forming  the  immediate  shore  at  Duluth,  styling 


4 


104  THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 

[A.  Winchell,  1871. 

them  feldspar-porphyry,  with  magnetite  and  epidote,  and  also  calcite  and 

laumontite,  some  of  the  rock  being  amygdaloidal.  Between  the  hyperyte 

and  the  porphyry te  he  notes  another  unstratified  homogeneous  black  rock,  of 

igneous  origin;  but  he  essays  not  to  trace  the  relations  which  these  igneous 
% 

rocks  bear  to  each  other,  though  he. states  that  they  seem  to  be  inter- 
stratified  with  the  Potsdam  sandstone  at  points  farther  down  the  coast. 

The  “trap  rock”  at  Taylor’s  Falls  he  styles  porphyryte,  places  it  in  the 
Huronian,  and  dissents  from  Dr.  Owen,  who  regards  the  sandstone  overlying 
as  older  than  the  trap.  Mr.  Kloos,  on  the  other  hand,  demonstrates,  by 
various  diagrams  and  by  his  observations,  that  the  sandstone  was  deposited, 
and  still  remains  undisturbed,  in  horizontal  stratification,  unconformably, 
over  the  crystalline  rock,  and  must  be  of  later  date.* 

In  respect  to  the  copper  discoveries  at  Taylor’s  Falls,  he  says  that  there 
are  a  great  many  small  feldspathic  veins,  and  that  in  one  of  these,  where 
Mr.  Taylor  had  sunk  a  shaft  to  the  depth  of  twenty  feet,  copper  was  dis¬ 
seminated  through  the  substance  of  the  vein-rock  (principally  feldspathic 
and  decomposed)  in  exceedingly  thin  foliae,  mixed  sometimes  with  a  sul- 
phuret  of  copper,  or  copper-glance.  The  Kettle  river  discoveries  he  regards 
more  favorably.  They  are  forty  miles  above  Taylor’s  Falls,  and  warrant 
the  expectation  that  in  other  places  on  the  Kettle  river  copper-bearing 
veins  will  be  found  at  some  future  time.f 

Mr.  Kloos  was  the  first  to  announce  the  Cretaceous  rocks  at  any  point 
so  far  north  in  the  state  as  the  Sauk  valley.  In  the  American  Journal  of 
Science  and  Arts ,  1872,  he  gives  the  particulars  of  such  a  discovery,  authen¬ 
ticated  by  paleontological  determinations  of  Mr.  F.  B.  Meek. 

A.  WINCHELL  EXAMINES  THE  SALT  WELL  AT  BELLE  PLAINE. 

The  legislature  ol  1870  passed  a  law  entitled  “  An  act  to  aid  in  the 
development  of  the  salt  springs  at  Belle  Plaine,”  which  donated  six  sections 
of  the  state  salt  lands  to  a  company  organized  for  that  purpose,  on  certain 
conditions.  These  conditions,  which  required  the  sinking  of  a  drilled  well  at 

*In  the  third  volume  of  the  report  of  the  geological  survey  of  Wisconsin,  Mr.  Sweet  seems  to  have  come  to  the 
same  opinion  independently,  at  a  later  date  than  Mr.  Kloos. 

tSubsequently  Mr.  Kloos  and  Prof.  Streng  made  a  careful  examination  of  the  crystalline  rocks  collected  in  Minne¬ 
sota.  Mr.  Kloos’  geological  observations  were  published  in  Zeitschrift  d.  d.  geol.  OeseUschaft,  1871,  S.  428;  and  the  min- 
eralogical  papers  of  Streng  and  Kloos  are  to  be  found  in  the  Neues  Jahrbuch  far  Min.  Geol.  u.  Pal.  1877.  Vide ,  also,  the 
translations  of  these  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  annual  reports  of  the  Geological  and  Natural  History  survey  of  Minnesota. 


k 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH.  105 

1871,  A.  Winchell.] 

Belle  Plaine,  where  indications  of  brine  were  said  to  exist,  to  the  depth  of 
several  hundred  feet,  were  complied  with  by  the  company,  and  the  six  sec¬ 
tions  of  land  were  conveyed  to  the  company.  The  following  year,  on  the 
passage  of  another  law  to  further  aid  in  the  development  of  the  same  salt 
springs,  the  conveyance  was  conditioned  on  a  favorable  report,  after  a  geo¬ 
logical  survey  of  the  vicinity  of  Belle  Plaine  by  a  competent  geologist. 
Prof.  A.  Winchell  of  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  having  been  designated  by  gov¬ 
ernor  Austin,  made  the  necessary  examination,  and  reported  in  June,  1871. 
His  report  was  transmitted  to  the  senate  in  January,  1872,  and  was  ordered 
printed.  It  is  an  octavo  pamphlet  of  sixteen  pages.*  After  stating  the  general 
facts  and  principles  which  guided  the  geologist  in  coming  to  a  conclusion, 
the  report  gives  some  local  geological  observations  in  which  the  section  of 
the  exposed  sand-rock  along  Sand  creek,  at  Jordan,  is  for  the  first  time  care¬ 
fully  made  out.  It  is  regarded  as  of  the  Potsdam  age,  and  placed  beneath 
the  Lower  Magnesian  limestone  of  Owen.  No  distinction  is  made  between 
the  stratigraphical  horizon  of  the  limestone  at  Kasota  and  that  at  St.  Law¬ 
rence,  and  the  sand-rock  at  Jordan  is  supposed  to  lie  beneath  both ;  the  strata 
at  Kasota  being  supposed  to  dip  down  the  river  so  as  to  bring  them  at  St. 
Lawrence  about  sixty  feet  nearer  the  water  than  at  Kasota.  From  all  the 
facts  considered,  the.  conclusion  was  reached  that  the  prospect  of  obtaining 
brine  at  Belle  Plaine  was  not  encouraging ;  that  the  horizon  of  the  rocks 
penetrated  is  below  all  known  saliferous  formations,  and  that  even  if  the 
shales  of  the  Trenton  group  should  prove  to  be  saliferous,  the  product  is 
likely  to  accumulate  under  a  region  far  to  the  south. 

Notwithstanding  the  unfavorable  report  of  the  geologist,  which  ren¬ 
dered  the  appropriation  of  1871  inoperative,  the  legislature  of  1872  appro¬ 
priated  six  sections  more  of  the  salt  spring  lands  to  the  same  company  for 
the  same  purpose.  Not  only  has  no  brine  in  workable  quantities  ever  been 
obtained  from  this  well,  but  the  analyses  of  the  present  survey  have  failed 
to  establish  the  alleged  briny  character  of  the  water  of  the  spring  at  Belle 
Plaine  on  which  the-expenditure  was  at  first  undertaken. 

The  same  legislature  (1872)  enacted  the  law  which  initiated  the  present 
survey. 


*Report  of  a  geological  survey  of  the  vicinity  of  Belle  Plaine,  Scott  county,  Minnesota.  By  A.  Winchell. 

* 


/ 


106 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Present  survey,  1872-83. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  PRESENT  SURVEY. 


The  law  under  which  this  survey  has  been  carried  on  was  drafted  by 
president  W.  W.  Folwell,  and  was  introduced  in  the  legislature  by  senator  J. 
S.  Pillsbury.  then  a  regent  of  the  University.  It  passed  both  houses,  and  was 
approved  by  governor  Horace  Austin,  March  1,  1872.  It  reads  as  follows: 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Minnesota: 

Section  1.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  University  of  Minnesota  to 
cause  to  be  begun  as  soon  as  may  be  practicable,  and  to  carry  on  a  thorough  geological  and 
natural  history  survey  of  the  state. 

Sec.  2.  The  geological  survey  shall  be  carried  on  with  a  view  to  a  complete  account  of  the 
mineral  kingdom,  as  represented  in  the  state,  including  the  number,  order,  dip,  and  magnitude  of 
the  several  geological  strata,  their  richness  in  ores,  coals,  clays,  peats,  salines,  and  mineral  waters, 
marls,  cements,  building  stones  and  other  useful  materials,  the  value  of  said  substances  for  eco¬ 
nomical  purposes,  and  their  accessibility,  also  an  accurate  chemical  analysis  of  the  various  rocks, 
soils,  ores,  clays,  peats,  marls  and  other  mineral  substances ;  of  which  complete  and  exact  record 
shall  be  made. 

Sec.  3.  The  natural  history  survey  shall  include,  first,  an  examination  of  the  vegetable 
productions  of  the  state,  embracing  all  trees,  shrubs,  herbs,  and  grasses,  native  or  naturalized  in 
the  state ;  second,  a  complete  and  scientific  account  of  the  animal  kingdom,  as  properly  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  state,  including  all  mammalia,  fishes,  reptiles,  birds  and  insects. 

Sec.  4.  The  said  surveys  and  examinations  shall  be  made  in  the  manner  and  order  follow¬ 
ing  :  First,  the  geological  survey  proper  together  with  the  necessary  and  implied  mineralogical 
investigations  ;  all  of  which  shall  be  undertaken  as  soon  as  may  be  practicable,  and  be  carried  for¬ 
ward  with  such  expedition  as  may  be  consistent  with  economy  and  thoroughness ;  second,  the 
botanical  examinations ;  third,  the  zoological  investigations.  Provided,  however,  that  whenever 
the  said  board  of  regents  may  find  it  most  economical  to  prosecute  different  portions  of  the  surveys 
in  conjunction,  or  that  the  public  interest  demands  it,  they  may,  in  their  discretion,  depart  from 
the  above  prescribed  order.  And  in  the  employment  of  assistants  in  the  said  surveys,  the  board 
of  regents  shall  at  all  times  give  the  preference  to  the  students  and  graduates  of  the  University  of 
Minnesota,  provided  the  same  be  well  qualified  for  the  duties. 

Sec.  5.  The  said  board  of  regents  shall  also  cause  to  be  collected  and  tabulated  such  meteo¬ 
rological  statistics  as  may  be  needed  to  account  for  the  varieties  of  climate  in  the  various  parts 
of  the  state ;  also  to  cause  to  be  ascertained  [by]  barometrical  observations  or  other  appropriate 
means,  the  relative  elevations  and  depressions  of  the  different  parts  of  the  state ;  and  also,  on  or 
before  the  completion  of  the  said  surveys,  to  cause  to  be  compiled  from  such  actual  surveys  and 
measurements  as  may  be  necessary,  an  accurate  map  of  the  state ;  which  map,  when  approved  by 
the  governor,  shall  be  the  official  map  of  the  state. 

Sec.  6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  board  of  regents  to  cause  proper  specimens,  skillfully 
prepared,  secured  and  labeled,  of  all  rocks,  soils,  ores,  coals,  fossils,  cements,  building  stones, 
plants,  woods,  skins  and  skeletons  of  animals,  birds,  insects  and  fishes,  and  other  mineral,  vege¬ 
table  and  animal  substances  and  organisms  discovered  or  examined  in  the  course  of  said  surveys, 
to  be  preserved  for  public  inspection  free  of  cost,  in  the  University  of  Minnesota,  in  rooms  conve¬ 
nient  of  access  and  properly  warmed,  lighted,  ventilated  and  furnished,  and  in  charge  of  a  proper 
scientific  curator ;  and  they  shall  also,  whenever  the  same  may  be  practicable,  cause  duplicates  in 
reasonable  numbers  and  quantities  of  the  above  named  specimens,  to  be  collected  and  preserved 
for  the  purpose  of  exchanges  with  other  state  universities  and  scientific  institutions,  of  which 
latter  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington  shall  have  the  preference. 

Sec.  7.  The  said  board  of  regents  shall  cause  a  geological  map  of  the  state  to  be  made  as 
soon  as  may  be  practicable,  upon  which,  by  colors  and  other  appropriate  means  and  devices,  the 
various  geological  formations  shall  be  represented, 


1873-32,  Present  survey.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


107 


Sec.  8.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  board  of  regents,  through  their  president,  to  make,  on 
or  before  the  second  Tuesday  in  December  of  each  and  every  year,  a  report  showing  the  progress 
of  the  said  surveys,  accompanied  by  such  maps,  drawings  and  specifications  as  may  be  necessary 
and  proper  to  exemplify  the  same  to  the  governor,  who  shall  lay  the  same  before  the  legislature  ; 
and  the  said  board  of  regents,  upon  the  completion  of  any  separate  portion  of  the  said  surveys, 
shall  cause  to  be  prepared  a  memoir  or  final  report,  which  shall  embody  in  a  convenient  manner 
all  useful  and  important  information  accumulated  in  the  course  of  the  investigation  of  the  par¬ 
ticular  department  or  portion ;  which  report  or  memoir  shall  likewise  be  communicated  through 
the  governor  to  the  legislature. 

Sec.  9.  To  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  act  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum 
is  hereby  appropriated,  to  be  drawn  and  expended  by  the  [said]  board  of  regents  of  the  University 
of  Minnesota. 

Sec.  10.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  approval. 

The  present  writer  was  appointed  to  conduct  this  survey  in  July,  1872, 

but,  having  work  to  complete  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  did  not  begin  service 

till  September.  The  field-work  the  first  year  occupied  about  a  month  and 

was  closed  by  the  first  heavy  fall  of  snow,  November  12th.  The  means 

placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  state  geologist  not  warranting  the  employment 

of  assistants  he  was  only  able  to  make  a  general  reconnoissance  of  the 

southern  and  central  portions  of  the  state  accessible  by  railroad,  and»  on 

this  as  a  basis  he  was  enabled  to  give  a  nearly  complete  section  of  the  strata 

from  the  trap  'and  granitic  rocks  to  the  Galena  limestone  in  the  Lower 

% 

Silurian,  including  also  about  forty  feet  of  the  latter.  Various  out-crops 
of  the  Cretaceous  were  described  also  in  the  first  annual  report. 

On  the  basis  of  the  field-work  done  in  the  fall  of  1872,  and  of  reports 
already  published,  the  first  annual  report  of  the  survey  gives  a  general 
sketch  of  the  geology  of  Minnesota ,  as  then  known,  accompanied  by  a  small 
colored  geological  map  of  the  state,  and  also  a  chart  of  geological  nomen¬ 
clature  intended  to  express  the  relation  of  Minnesota  to  the  great  geologi¬ 
cal  series  of  the  earth,  and  the  probable  equivalency  ot  some  of  the  names 
the  formations  have  received  in  the  various  states  and  in  Europe. 

In  the  account  of  the  “Potsdam  sandstone’7  of  the  northwest,  as 
defined  by  the  Iowa  and  Wisconsin  geologists,  and  of  the  red  quartzytes  of 
the  same  region,  the  first  step  was  taken  toward  the  investigation  of  that 
stratigraphical  problem  which  seeks  to  determine  the  western  equivalent 
of  the  Potsdam  sandstone  of  New  York  ;  and  inasmuch  as  the  same  name 
had  by  good  authorities  been  applied  to  two  different  and  quite  distinct 
western  formations,  the  name  St.  Croix  was  suggested  for  the  light-colored 
sandstone  of  the  upper  Mississippi  and  St.  Croix  valleys,  it  being  more 
probable  that  the  Potsdam  of  New  York  was  represented  in  Minnesota  by 
the  red  quartzytes  and  shales  underlying. 


108 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Present  survey,  1872-82. 


The  state  geologist,  under  the  head  of  “plans  and  recommendations,” 

p  * 

makes  the  following  statement  in  the  first  report. 

The  law  under  which  the  present  survey  is  being  prosecuted  appropriates  the  sum  of  one 
thousand  dollars  per  annum.  This  is  too  small  for  various  reasons,  the  chief  of  which  are,  (1)  It 
will  not  pay  for  the  services  of  a  single  employe  on  the  survey  capable  of  working  under  the  law. 
Hence  it  well-nigh  renders  the  law  inoperative.  (2)  It  does  not  command  the  respect  and  con¬ 
fidence  of  the  citizens  of  the  state  and  others,  and  serves  as  an  excuse  for  refusing  aid  and 
co-operation.  The  survey  should  be  independent  of  favors  for  which  it  now  has  to  beg,  some¬ 
times  to  be  scornfully  refused.  (3)  In  the  survey  of  those  portions  of  the  state  inaccessible  by 
public  roads,  or  by  railroads,  it  will  be  necessary  to  employ  laborers,  and  incur  other  expense,  for 
which  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  is  not  sufficient.  (4)  In  order  to  conduct  the  survey  on 
one  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  the  state  geologist  must  find  some  other  employment  a  portion 
of  the  year.*  (5)  The  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved  demands  that  ample  means  be  allowed 
for  doing  the  work  of  the  survey  thoroughly  and  without  embarrassment.  These  considerations 
ought  to  induce  the  legislature  to  increase  the  amount  now  appropriated  to  a  sum  sufficient  at 
least  to  keep  one  man  constantly  employed,  and  to  pay  all  expense  of  field-work  and  chemical 
examinations.  In  connection  with  the  subject  of  increasing  the  means  provided  for  a  geological 
survey,  it  is  suggested  that  the  state  lands  known  as  salt  spring  lands  may  be  so  sold  or  appro¬ 
priated  under  the  management  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  university,  as  to  be  available  for  that 
purpose.  It  would  be  in  perfect  consonance  with  the  original  design,  in  the  reservation  of  these 
lands  from  sale,  if  they  were  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  board  of  regents,  conditioned  on  their 
use  in  the  prosecutation  of  the  geological  and  natural  history  survey  of  the  state,  with  a  view  to 
the  early  and  economical  development  of  the  brines  of  the  state. 

This  recommendation  respecting  the  use  of  salt  spring  lands  for  the 
prosecution  of  the  survey,  was  based  on  representations  made  to  the  writer 
by  Mr.  W.  D.  Hurlbut  of  Rochester,  and  Hon.  H.  B.  Wilson,  superintendent 
of  public  instruction,  and  on  conversations  with  Hon.  0.  P.  Whitcomb, 
state  auditor,  and  subsequently  with  senator  J.  S.  Pillsbury  and  president 
Folwell ;  but  it  was  only  through  the  indefatigable  and  persistent  efforts  ot 
senator  Pillsbury,  that  the  following  law  was  passed  by  the  legislature 
of  1873.f  It  is  verbatim  as  drafted  by  the  present  writer,  and  by  its  action 
the  survey  has  been  supplied  with  funds  needed  for  its  prosecution. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Minnesota : 

Section  1.  The  state  lands  known  as  state  salt  lands,  donated  by  the  general  government  to 
aid  in  the  development  of  the  brines  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  shall  be  transferred  to  the  custody 
and  control  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  university  of  Minnesota.  By  said  board  of  regents  these 
lands  smay  be  sold  in  such  manner,  or  in  such  amounts,  consistent  with  the  laws  of  the  state  of 
Minnesota,  as  they  may  see  fit;  the  proceeds  thereof  being  held  in  trust  by  them,  and  only  dis¬ 
bursed  in  accordance  with  the  law  ordering  a  geological  and  natural  history  survey  of  the  state. 

Sec.  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  board  of  regents,  as  soon  as  practicable,  to  cause  a 
full  and  scientific  investigation  and  report  on  the  salt  springs  of  the  state,  with  a  view  to  the  early 
development  of  such  brine  deposits  as  may  exist  within  the  state. 

Sec.  3.  The  board  of  regents  of  the  university  shall  cause  the  immediate  survey  and  inves¬ 
tigation  of  the  peat  deposits  of  the  state  of  Minnesota,  accompanied  by  such  tests  and  chemical 
examinations  as  may  be  necessary  to  show  their  economical  value,  and  their  usefulness  for 
the  purpose  of  common  fuel ;  a  full  report  thereon  to  be  presented  to  the  legislature  as  soon  as 
practicable. 


*He  was  employed  as  instructor  in  the  University  of  Minnesota  during  six  months  of  each  year  from  1872  to  1878, 
lit  was  introduced  by  senator  Edmund  Rice. 


1872-82,  Present  survey.] 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH; 


109 


Sec.  4.  The  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars  is  hereby  appropriated  annually  (in  lieu  of  one 
thousand  dollars)  for  the  purpose  of  the  geological  and  natural  history  survey  until  such  time  as 
the  proceeds  6f  the  sales  of  the  salt  lands  shall  equal  that  amount,  when  such  annual  appropriation 
shall  cease. 

Sec.  5.  The  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  is  hereby  appropriated  for  the  purchase  of 
apparatus  and  chemicals  for  the  use  of  the  geological  and  natural  history  survey,  the  same  to  be 
expended  by  the  order  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  university  of  Minnesota. 

Sec.  6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  university  of  Minnesota  to  cause 
duplicate  geological  specimens  to  be  collected,  and  to  furnish  to  each  of  the  three  Normal  schools 
suites  of  such  specimens  after  the  university  collection  has  become  complete. 

Sec.  7.  When  the  geological  and  natural  history  survey  of  the  state  shall  have  been  com¬ 
pleted,  the  final  report  on  the  same  by  the  said  board  of  regents  shall  give  a  full  statement  of  the 
sales  of  the  salt  lands  hereby  given  into  the  custody  and  control  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the 
university  of  Minnesota,  together  with  the  amount  of  moneys  received  therefrom,  and  of  the 
balance,  if  any,  left  in  the  hands  of  said  board  of  regents. 

Sec.  8.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. 

Approved  March  10,  1873. 

In  compliance  with  the  above  law  the  state  geologist  made  an  exami¬ 
nation  of  the  peats  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  state  and  rendered  a 
report  on  them  in  1873.  On  examining  the  condition  of  the  United  States 
grant  of  land  for  salt  springs,  which  the  same  law  devotes  to  the  prosecu¬ 
tion  of  the  survey,  it  was  found  that  a  large  part  of  these  lands  had  never 
been  certified  to  the  state,  not  through  any  fault  of  the  governor*  or  other 
state  officers,  but  through  the  tardiness  of  the  officers  of  the  general  gov¬ 
ernment.  The  original  grant  covered  46,080  acres.  Of  this  sum  only  18,771 
acres  ’were  then  available  for  the  prosecution  of  the  survey.  The  uncerti¬ 
fied  lands  aggregated  19,872  acres.  A  memorial  of  the  state  legislature 
was  presented  to  congress,  asking  the  privilege  to  make  re-selections,  and 
through  the  efforts  of  governor  J.  S.  Pillsbury  and  senator  S.  J.  R.  McMillan, 
such  permission  was  granted,  and  the  certified  amount  of  the  salt  spring 
lands,  designed  for  the  prosecution  of  the  survey,  was  more  than  doubled. 

The  survey  has  continued  without  interruption  since  its  beginning  in 
1872.  The  principal  events,  and  its  results  from  year  to  year  have  been 
recorded  in  the  annual  reports,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  enter  upon  the 
internal  and  personal  history  involved  in  its  management  and  prosecution. 

Minneapolis,  January,  1881. 

[Note. — Since  this  historical  sketch  was  written  Mr.  Neill  has  published  some  new  facts 
concerning  Mr.  David  Thompson,  who  is  mentioned  on  page  25  as  a  geographer  employed  by  the 
Northwest  Fur  Company, t  derived  from  the  records  of  the  company  in  the  Parliament  library  at 
Ottawa.  From  this  it  appears  that  Mr.  Thompson  crossed  the  state  of  Minnesota  in  1798,  from 


*Gov.  H.  U.  Sibley  had  all  these  lands  located  according  to  the  terms  of  the  grant.  See  Report  concerning  the 
salt  spring  lands  due  the  state  of  Minnesota.  By  N.  H.  Winchell,  1874. 
fNeill’s  History  of  Minnesota,  4th  edition,  1882, 


110 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  MINNESOTA. 


[Present  survey,  1872-82. 


the  Red  river  of  the  North  to  lake  Superior.  He  ascended  the  Red  Lake  river  to  the  Clearwater 
river,  which  he  followed  to  the  mouth  of  a  tributary  from  the  north,  known  as  Wild  Rice  river. 
From  the  last  he  made  a  portage  of  four  miles  and  again  reached  Red  Lake  river.  From  Red 
lake  he  proceeded  southward  by  the  usual  route  to  Turtle  lake,  the  same  as  the  Julian  Source 
the  Mississippi  described  by  Mr.  Beltrami  in  1823,  thence  down  the  Mississippi  to  Sandy  lake 
and  by  way  of  the  Savannah  rivers  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Louis  at  Fond  du  Lac. 

Mr.  Neill  has  also  called  attention  to  the  existence  of  other  maps  of  the  region  south  and 
west  of  lake  Superior  older  than  that  of  Franquelin  of  1688,  represented  on  plate-page  No.  2. 
One  of  these  is  by  the  engineer  Randin,  another  is  by  Joliet  and  Franquelin,  and  a  third  is  by 
Joliet.  These  maps  give  the  name  Buade  to  the  Mississippi  river,  and  apply  the  term  Frontenacie 
to  the  whole  country  north  and  west  of  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  river.  Only  the  third,  that 
of  Joliet,  of  1764,  has  been  published. 

On  the  historical  plate  (No.  1),  Du  Luth’s  fort  (Kamanistigouia)  is  placed  at  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Louis  river  on  the  authority  of  Perrot,  who  says  ( Collections  of  the  Minnesota  Historical 
Society  for  1867,  p.  26),  son  poste  estoit  au  fond  du  lac  Superieur,  though  many  other  authorities 
concur  in  placing  it  at  Three  Rivers,  at  the  head  of  Thunder  bay.] 


Analytical  Index  of  the  Historical  Sketch. 


Introduction,  pages  1—2. 

Period  prior  to  1783,  p.  2 — 25. 

Champlain’s  Map,  1615,  2.  Statement  of  Paul  le  Jeune  1610,  3.  Jesuit  Relation,  1615,  3.  Groselliers  and 
Radisson,  1659,  3.  Menard,  Allouez,  and  Marquette.  4.  Du  Luth’s  trading  in  Minnesota,  1679.  5—  0.  Plants  the 
French  arms  among  the  Izatys,  5  Rendezvous  with  the  Indians  at  Fond  du  Lac,  5.  Visits  lake  Buade  again  in 
1680,  and  encounters  Hennepin,  0.  Hennepin’s  movements  in  Minnnesota,  6 — 8.  Description  of  the  falls  of 
St.  Anthony,  7.  Description  of  lake  Buade,  7-  Hennepin’s  map,  8.  La  Salle  on  the  discovery  of  the  falls  of 
St.  Anthony,  9—14.  Descent  of  the  Illinois  river.  9.  Description  of  the  Mississippi,  10.  The  Wisconsin 
valley  and  the  route  to  Green  bay,  10.  La  Salle’s  opinion  of  Du  Luth,  11.  La  Salle’s  description  of  the  falls  of 
St.  Anthony,  12.  Accault  and  Hennepin  captured,  13.  The  party  at  Mille  Lacs,  13.  La  Salle  justifies  the 
expedition,  14.  La  Hontan  in  Minnesota,  15.  Le  Sueur  in  the  Minnesota  valley,  16.  Le  Sueur’s  copper- 
mine  and  Fort  L’Huiliier,  17.  Mather’s  opinion  of  Le  Sueur’s  copper-mine,  17.  Oldest  map  of  the  region 
immediately  west  of  lake  Superior  by  the  Indian  Oehagaeh,  18.  Jonathan  Carver  on  the  Mississippi,  21. 
Describes  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  21  Carver  ascends  the  Minnesota,  23.  His  opinion  of  the  Minnesota  valley, 
24.  His  description  of  the  Marble  river  and  the  red  pipestone.  24. 

Period  of  Territorial  Exploration,  1783—1858,  p.  25  -  91. 

The  upper  Mississippi  region  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  25.  Morrison  discovers  Itasca  lake.  26.  Lieut. 
Z  M.  Pike.  26.  On  the  upper  Mississippi,  28.  Major  S.  H.  Long  at  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  Gov.  Lewis 
Cass' expedition.  31.  Schoolcraft  in  1820,  32  Schoolcraft  at  Little  Falls.  33.  Keating’s  narrative,  33.  Atthe 
falls  of  St.  Anthony,  34.  On  the  Minnesota  river  35.  Coteau  des  Prairies,  41.  On  the  northern  boundary,  42. 
Maj.  Long’s  resume.  44.  Beltrami  discovers  the  Julian  Sources  44.  Lake  Julia,  47.  Turtle  lake,  48. 
Beltrami  at  the  mouth  of  the  Redwood,  49.  At  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  49.  Schoolcraft  at  Itasca  lake,  50. 
Lieut  Allen  at  Itasca  lake,  52.  On  the  Crow  Wing  river,  55.  On  the  Mississippi,  56.  On  the  St  Croix,  57. 
G.  W.  Featherstonhaugh,  57.  At  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  58.  Ascends  the  Minnesota,  59.  The  quartzyte  at 
Redstone,  60.  On  the  Coteau,  61  George  Catlin  at  the  Pipestone  quarry,  62.  Lieut.  Albert  Lea,  66.  Jean  N. 
Nicollet,  67.  At  the  Pipestone  quarry,  69.  The  Undine  region,  71.  La  Hontan’s  Long  river,  73.  The  Des 
Moines  connected  with  the  Minnesota,  74.  Nicollet  at  Itasca  lake,  76.  Lieut.  Allen  at  the  source  of  the  Des 
Moines,  79.  Capt.  Sumner’s  expedition,  80.  The  survey  of  D.  D.  Owen,  81.  Wood’s  expedition  to  Pembina,  86. 
Capt.  Pope’s  report,  87.  The  Park  region,  89.  Capt.  Reno’s  road,  90.  Pacific  railroad  survey,  91 . 

Period  of  State  Exploration  and  Survey,  1858—1882.  p.  91—110. 

The  first  legislature,  91.  Joseph  A.  Wheelock,  92.  Anderson  and  Clark,  93.  Hanchett  and  Clark,  94.  H.  II. 
Eames.  95.  James  Hall  in  Minnesota,  97.  Copper  at  Tayloi’s  Falls,  and  on  the  Kettle  river,  98.  Whittlesey 
in  northern  Minnesota,  99.  Gen.  G.  K.  Warren  on  the  Minnesota  river  and  the  valley  of  lake  Winnipeg,  100, 
Hurlbut  on  the  geology  of  southern  Minnesota,  102.  Kloos  on  the  geology  of  northern  Minnesota,  103.  A. 
Winchell  on  the  Belle  Plaine  salt  well,  104.  The  law  of  the  present  survey,  106.  The  salt  spring  lands,  108. 


. 


